The last time the Dodgers and Padres played each other, both managers wanted to fight each other. Now, the Los Angeles is looking up at San Diego in the standings heading into this weekend’s three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

It’s a battle between the two best teams in the National League West, though the Dodgers haven’t been playing anywhere near that level for a month and a half. Four straight losses coupled with four straight Padres wins have San Diego up by a game in the division, the first time the Dodgers have trailed since April 27.

An actual Dodgers-Padres rivalry is a relatively recent phenomenon, because they’ve rarely both been good at the same time.

San Diego had catching up to do as an expansion team in 1969, and they were mostly awful for their first two decades of exist

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