With their three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers proved they are deeper and more focused than their budding NL West rivals.

LOS ANGELES — It was touted as the biggest series of the month. It was billed as a potential passing of the torch, with the San Diego Padres threatening to win the National League West for the first time in 19 years. Instead, Sunday’s finale ended in a three-game sweep — and a relatively convincing one, at that.

The Los Angeles Dodgers reasserted themselves in the National League West this weekend, and Mookie Betts was a huge cause of that success.

Betts’ eighth-inning home run breaks a 4-4 tie and completes the sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Padres. It also extends a hot streak born of a different approach.

Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo home run 411 feet to center field to increase the Dodgers' lead to 6-0 against the Padres in the fifth inning. Hernandez has hit a solo home run on back-to-back nights against San Diego.

The Padres president of baseball operations was talking about the good Dylan Cease, the man capable of shutting down teams and throwing no-hitters. That is not who climbed the mound in the first inning Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Blake Snell limited his former team to five hits in six innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers regained the NL West lead with a 6-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

A funny thing happened to the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend: They trotted out starting pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow for a three-game series against the American League's best team. The results looked a lot like what the ...

Padres Announce Jackson Merrill News After Leaving Dodgers Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The San Diego Padres have put together a strong second half that has put the NL West within reach, currently owning a 69–54 record and sitting just one game back of the division lead behind the Los Angeles Dodgers entering Sunday.