Spicy Dodgers-Padres rivalry is proving to be MLB's best in 2025

That would prove to be a mere appetizer, however. 

The real fireworks exploded in Tuesday's contest, when each team's star player was hit by the opposing pitcher — outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino and Shohei Ohtani by Padres pitcher Randy Vasquez — all in the same third inning.

Understandably, tensions boiled over in both dugouts, with L.A. skipper Dave Roberts earning himself an ejection for pleading his case despite receiving a warning from the umpires.

This is the type of drama that fuels a flamboyant and spicy rivalry that we need to acknowledge as baseball's best right now. 

The list of infractions doesn't just date back to 2025. These teams have met in two out of the last three postseasons, with the Padres defeating the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS and L.A. extracting revenge with a five-game win in the 2024 NLDS en route to a World Series championship.

Thanks to MLB's balanced schedule, Los Angeles and San Diego will only meet in two more series this season for a total of 13 contests between the two rivals. But these theatrics have us yearning for the return of the unbalanced divisional schedules, where these clubs would play each other up to 19 times a year. 

On that note, savor every moment of when these two clubs meet head-to-head. And perhaps we'll even get another October duel in 2025.