BASEBALL'S BEST RIVALRY REACHES TURNING POINT

With plenty of games left, it's a shame Padres and Dodgers don't end the season against each other

- BILL SHAIKIN COLUMNIST

LUIS ARRÁEZ of the Padres reacts to his double against Mookie Betts and the Dodgers. The rivals are engaged in a divisional tug-of-war.

The home team was one strike from victory Friday night, when the Petco Park video board suddenly erupted in hues of pink and mint, flashing the preferred accompaniment to any game against the Dodgers: BEAT LA.

Then came the 102-mph fastball, then a swing and a miss, and the San Diego Padres had indeed beaten the Dodgers.

For Dodgers fans who thought the National League West had been won last weekend at Dodger Stadium, this just in from San Diego: The NL West is tied.

These were words in this publication just five days ago: “The Dodgers now lead the National League West by two games, but it feels like 20.”

The Dodgers had just swept the Padres, their only competition for the division title. The Dodgers were 8-2 against the Padres this season. There was a blue wave of emotion. The thing that happened last is the thing you remember best.

“It’s natural,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That's the great thing about fandom. People get excited. That's a great thing about sports.”

The feeling in the clubhouse last weekend?

“In here? We played a great series, but there’s still a lot of baseball left to play," Roberts said. "It wasn't going to be won or lost then, and it's not going to be won or lost this weekend." The trouble is not with the emotion. The trouble is with the schedule.