Ahead of the two teams' upcoming tilt, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt discussed their rivals, the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Naturally, the subject of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani came up. As the Japanese two-way player prepares for his Los Angeles debut on the mound, Padres beat reporter Sammy Levitt posted Shildt's take on Ohtani, where he channeled legendary wrestler Ric Flair, on X, formerly Twitter.

“Padres manager Mike Shildt discusses his team facing Shohei Ohtani on the mound tonight: ‘As Ric Flair would say — to be the man, you got to beat the man. If we’re gonna be the best, we got to beat the best,'” posted Levitt on the social media platform.

If Ohtani performs on the mound on Monday night like he used to with the Los Angeles Angels, the Padres will have their hands full. The Dodgers already own a two-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. That lead is increased to three games when it comes to the third-place Padres. Monday evening is the start of a four-game set at Dodger Stadium. Can the Padres pull off an unlikely series win, possibly even a sweep?

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Can Padres slow down Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers?

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) leads off first during the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Ohtani is already the likely frontrunner for NL MVP. He won the award last year in his first year with the Dodgers, adding a third MVP trophy to his collection. He's far and ahead the lead vote-getter in NL with the latest tally of All-Star voting results. His debut on the mound for the Dodgers has been consistently discussed since he's joined the team. Now the moment is finally here.

Would it be surprising to see Los Angeles once again represent in National League in the World Series? Will they go on to capture their ninth world championship? At the moment, it wouldn't be a surprising outcome. Shildt and the Padres are certainly hoping to thwart those plans. If they can beat the Dodgers on their home turf, just a week after losing two out of three games to their rivals, then October glory might finally be in the cards once again.