The National League Division Series between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers is full of drama, star power, and most importantly, hatred for one another. The two NL West rivals are not shy about the way that they feel about each other, and things have only heated up over the first two games of the series.
During Game 2, Dodgers fans added fuel to the fire when one fan threw a baseball in the direction of outfielder Jurickson Profar, causing the tension between the two teams to escalate even more. When the series went back to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday night, Padres fans didn't hesitate to let Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hear it during introductions. They showered the Dodgers' skipper with a parade of boos as he walked out before the game.
Roberts and the Dodgers have gotten awfully familiar with the Padres in recent years, past just seeing them throughout the season as a division opponent. This NLDS is the third playoff meeting between the two teams in the last five years, with the Dodgers winning in a 3-0 sweep in the 2020 NLDS and the Padres knocking off Los Angeles 3-1 in the 2022 NLDS.
Article Continues BelowThe winner of this series is sure to have bragging rights over the other heading into 2025, and they also will have an inside track to an NL pennant and a shot at winning the World Series. The Padres are trying to reach the pinnacle of the sport for the first time since 1998 and win the title for the first time in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Dodgers rode that 2020 victory over San Diego all the way to the title.
Roberts and the Dodgers are off to a rough start in Game 3, as the Padres' hot lineup has jumped all over starting g pitcher Walker Buehler. A moonshot home run from Fernando Tatis Jr. gave the Padres a 6-1 lead in the second inning, so Roberts is going to have some bullpen decisions to make early on in this one.