The San Diego Padres took the series over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, winning three of four games despite playing the entire set without star centerfielder Jackson Merrill. The 22-year-old exited Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers early with a bone bruise in his left ankle, after initially tweaking it a couple of games prior.

This weekend represents the last 2025 regular-season series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, the rivalry has cooled due to the Dodgers’ dominance over the Padres in head-to-head competition.

The Padres host the Dodgers on Friday night. Star centerfielder Jackson Merrill will once again not be in the lineup for the Padres.

The San Diego Padres need to bolster their farm system through the MLB Draft after destroying the top of their system to land some big trades.

Thanks to Thursday’s escape from Denver to salvage a series split at Coors Field, the Dodgers still haven’t lost a series to a National League West team this season in 10 tries. They’ll put that mark to the test this weekend against the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.

The LA Dodgers (73-55) face the San Diego Padres (72-56) in the opener of a 3-game set Friday. First pitch from Petco Park in San Diego is set for 9:40 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Dodgers vs. Padres odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

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The Dodgers activated Tanner Scott from the IL before the Padres series, optioning Matt Sauer after his recent outing.

The season mark of 3,330,545 set last season by the San Diego Padres is assured of being broken based on tickets already distributed for the remaining 19 home games.

The San Diego Padres took a different route at the trade deadline, trading top prospects in their quest to catch the Dodgers.

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MLB analyst Ryan Dempsey said the San Diego Padres need to win the NL West more than the Los Angeles Dodgers to boost their confidence going into the postseason.