The Los Angeles Dodgers may have been defeated 5-3 by the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, but Shohei Ohtani gave both teams a lesson on approaching the game of baseball with pure class.

Dodgers reliever Jack Little hit Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch late in the game. The moment led to both benches clearing — and managers Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt ended up exchanging words and even a shove. After the players and coaches returned to their dugouts, Tatis ultimately exited the game with an apparent injury.

Tatis had already been hit by Dodger pitching multiple times prior to the Little fastball. He appeared to get hit in the hand and would undergo X-rays after the game. After the contest, Tatis' teammate, Manny Machado, warned the Dodgers that they “should pray” that the X-rays end up coming back negative, something he said via Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Rewinding to the bottom of the 9th inning, Shohei Ohtani had already been hit by Padres pitching in the series. San Diego was clearly frustrated by Fernando Tatis Jr. getting hit by a pitch, though, and Ohtani seemingly paid the price. Padres reliever Robert Suarez threw a 100 MPH fastball that hit Ohtani in the shoulder. The pitch was seemingly intentional and Suarez was ejected from the game.

In almost any other scenario, this incident would have led to a brawl on the field. Ohtani, demonstrating his class, instead waved off the Dodgers dugout.

Video via Jomboy Media:

Ohtani later even walked over to have a calm discussion with the Padres' dugout. It was a rare sight to see, as benches-clearing moments on the field often occur in similar situations.

Ohtani's simple gesture may have changed the dynamic of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry, however.

Shohei Ohtani stays calm, cool and collected

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani runs after hitting a solo home-run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
Ryan Sun-Imagn Images

I'm not saying that you are going to see the Dodgers and Padres grabbing dinner together anytime soon. Heck, they may not even acknowledge each other before games at this point. What Ohtani did, though, was send a message that he wants to move on and focus on the baseball element of the game.

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Of course, Machado's postgame comments speak otherwise. Both managers' actions also tell a different story. Speaking of Roberts and Shildt, what was it that led to their back-and-forth?

According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Roberts said the Dodgers had no intention of throwing at Tatis late in Thursday's game. The Dodgers manager took issue with Shildt's reaction to the moment, though.

“I felt that he was trying to make it personal with me,” Roberts said. “Which then, I take it personal.”

As for Shildt, he admitted that “enough is enough,” via Foul Territory.

“I would like to think not,” Shildt responded when asked if he believed the pitch that hit Tatis was intentional. “But I can't say that… Only a couple people know that. And whether it was or it wasn't, enough is enough. You know, we got a guy that's getting X-rays right now… One of the best players in the game, of course on our team, and this guy has taken shots.”

Is the Dodgers-Padres rivalry going to change?

There will still be tension the next time the Dodgers play the Padres — although that won't happen until the middle of August. One has to imagine that Shohei Ohtani's actions will make both ball clubs think twice before throwing at one another, though. If the best player in MLB is willing to move past the back-and-forth, perhaps others will follow.

There is still a rivalry between the teams, but Ohtani's simple gesture still may have changed the dynamic of future head-to-head matchups between the Dodgers and Padres.