The long-simmering tension between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers boiled over Thursday night, culminating in a fiery, bench-clearing scene after Fernando Tatis Jr. was struck by a pitch in the ninth inning. The dramatic moment added another volatile chapter to a rivalry that has grown increasingly bitter—and dangerous.
Rookie Dodgers pitcher Jack Little hit Tatis Jr., marking the seventh hit-by-pitch in the heated series. The incident prompted chaos, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Padres skipper Mike Shildt nearly coming to blows. Both were ultimately ejected after the benches cleared in a dramatic show of hostility.
“It was an ugly series,” one analyst put it bluntly. “Not the kind of baseball you want to see—more like a brawl disguised as a rivalry. Players’ safety was compromised, and umpires clearly lost control.”
Following the game, Manny Machado made headlines with a statement that seemed to carry an ominous undertone. “[The Dodgers] need to set a little candle up for Tatis tomorrow, and hope that everything comes back negative,” he told reporters.
While some interpreted the comment as a veiled threat, it’s also a reminder that this feud is far from over. Machado’s words echoed through baseball circles and reignited his personal history with the Dodgers.
Fans may have forgotten, but Machado once wore Dodger blue. Acquired mid-season in 2018, he posted a .273 average with 13 homers in 66 regular-season games. However, his postseason performance (.227 batting average) and on-field antics left a sour taste. The following offseason, Machado signed an 11-year, $350 million deal with San Diego, and has since become public enemy No. 1 in Los Angeles.
So when Tatis Jr. was plunked for the third time in just seven games between the clubs, even Dodgers fans wondered if this time there might be real intent behind it. Yet, Dave Roberts quickly defended his rookie pitcher.
“I think anyone would understand there’s no intent there,” Roberts said postgame. “And even by my reaction, I didn’t feel good about Tatis — great player, good guy — getting hit.”
But the controversy didn’t stop there. In the very next half-inning, Padres closer Robert Suarez drilled Shohei Ohtani in the back with a fastball on a 3-0 count—a move that appeared unmistakably intentional to the Dodgers’ dugout.
“This is a right-handed pitcher going cross-court to hit Shohei up and in,” Roberts said. “That’s a hard throw. And I don’t know how many left-handed hitters Suarez has hit with the fastball. But clearly there was intent behind it.”
Ohtani, ever the peacemaker, waved off his teammates from escalating the situation, but the message was clear: the Padres weren’t going to let things slide.
Despite Machado’s quote sounding like a threat, many believe he was simply underscoring the potential fallout if Tatis misses time due to the injury. Still, it’s clear neither side is backing down.
“Dave Roberts has already proven he’ll go to bat for his guys,” one insider noted, “and Machado clearly isn’t interested in cooling things off either.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on your perspective—the Padres and Dodgers won’t meet again until August. That leaves weeks of simmering resentment, mounting tension, and inevitable speculation about what happens the next time they share the field.
With rising stakes, superstar talent, and volatile tempers, this may now be baseball’s most explosive rivalry.