Dodgers-Padres takeaways: A rejuvenated Los Angeles club sweeps a struggling San Diego offenseHere’s what we learned from this weekend’s showdown atop the NL West.Fabian Ardaya and Dennis Lin121 (Fabian Ardaya and Dennis Lin – The Athletic)

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.

Since the trade, the A's have had all of one save situation on their schedule, which came last Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles. Trailing 2-1 entering the top of the ninth, the A's scored twice to take a 3-2 lead, and decided to leave right-hander Elvis Alvarado in the game since manager Mark Kotsay liked how he was throwing the ball.