San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nestor Cortes (65) delivers during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park on Saturday. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Padres Accomplish Something Against Dodgers Not Done Since 1906

Originally posted on San Diego Padres on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 3:30 PM ET

Stoney McGlynn and Jack Pfiester, meet Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes.

The San Diego Padres' starting pitchers on Friday and Saturday did something no pair of pitchers has done in 119 years.

On Sept. 24, 1906, McGlynn threw seven no-hit innings for the St. Louis Cardinals in Brooklyn when home plate umpire Bob Emslie agreed to call the game on account of darkness. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The next day, the Brooklyn Superbas (the team previously and subsequently known as the "Dodgers") garnered one hit in a 1-0 loss to Pfiester and the Chicago Cubs.

Another Darvish Day in the books. pic.twitter.com/zMfQpWAy6g
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 23, 2025

Not until this past weekend in San Diego had two pitchers thrown at least six innings while allowing one hit or fewer to the Dodgers, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.

Darvish allowed only a solo home run by Alex Freeland on Friday in the Padres' 2-1 victory, which temporarily left the two teams tied atop the National League West standings.

Nasty. pic.twitter.com/ay3RPeea0G
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 24, 2025

Cortes took a perfect game into the sixth inning Saturday at Petco Park. A one-out single by Miguel Rojas broke up the veteran left-hander's bid at individual glory, but the Padres still managed a 5-1 win over the Dodgers — and Cortes combined with Darvish to claim a smaller slice of history in the process.

The win temporarily put the Padres into sole possession of first place in the division, which they squandered when the Dodgers won 8-2 in Sunday's series finale. The two teams are tied at 74-57 as the Padres visit the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

Nonetheless, winning two of three at home was a welcome outcome after the Dodgers swept the Padres in a three-game series a week ago in Los Angeles.

Arguably more impressive than the results were how they were achieved. The Dodgers entered the weekend with a .773 OPS, the best mark in the National League and the second-best in all of MLB. They have a .721 OPS on the road, the majors' 12th-best mark.

Cortes, 30, had struggled in his first three starts since the Padres acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers, going 0-1 with a 4.20 ERA (seven earned runs in 15 innings). He was about as unlikely a candidate to throw a perfect game as there was.

Darvish, 39, was struggling even more mightily, with a 5.97 ERA entering the weekend. He has three years left on the six-year, $108 million contract extension he signed with the Padres in 2023. The veteran right-hander faced the burden of proof that he could help the team not just this October, but for years to come.

In the span of one weekend, both pitchers helped the Padres climb the standings — and helped their own causes to start games in the postseason.