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The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres wrote the latest chapter in their rivalry when the dugouts cleared after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch last week.
Padres manager Mike Shildt stormed out of the dugout and started yelling toward the Dodgers dugout, prompting Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to confront Shildt. The two managers were nose to nose for a moment before being separated.
Baseball Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman participated in the rivalry as a member of the Padres for nearly 16 seasons. Hoffman works as a senior advisor to baseball operations with the Padres.
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San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, center, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts yell at each other after the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch during the ninth inning June 19, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Hoffman, 57, talked to Fox News Digital about how the rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres has an “old-school feel.”
“(The benches clearing is) an extension to how heated this rivalry has become. It’s really a measuring stick of where your team is at. It’s passionate, guys care about winning games on both sides and sometimes these things happen,” Hoffman told Fox News Digital.
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“It’s a little bit of an old-school feel, and I know there are rules in place to try and curtail some things like this going on. But when you are playing high-level baseball, and you are trying to win ballgames, these things will happen and, honestly, I think it’s good for the game.”
The Dodgers and Padres have matched up in the playoffs in three of the last five postseasons. The Dodgers swept the Padres 3-0 in the 2020 NLDS en route to a World Series title.
San Diego Padres former closer Trevor Hoffman throws out the first pitch before the San Diego Padres’ home opener against the San Francisco Giants April 5, 2011, in San Diego. (Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today Sports)
In the 2022 NLDS, the Padres took down the Dodgers in four games to advance to the NLCS. In the 2024 NLDS, the Padres held a 2-1 series lead and pushed the Dodgers to the brink, but the Dodgers rallied to move on and win another World Series.
The two teams have played seven regular-season games this season, and the Dodgers have won five. In those seven games, Tatis had been hit by a pitch three times.
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Twice after Tatis was drilled, the Padres pitchers hit the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani with a pitch in presumed retaliation.
“It’s been a few too many times (Tatis had been hit), and when it’s your star player, at some point in time, you protect,” Hoffman said.
“And there are other aspects to the game when you feel like someone is stealing signs in a place or someone goes hard into a base that you are going to police the game. But there are rules in place that try and prevent that sort of thing from happening.”
San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, center, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts yell at each other after the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch during the ninth inning June 19, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Hoffman said the bench-clearing incident between the two clubs can galvanize a team.
“You don’t want a guy in your own uniform to feel like you are getting taken advantage of, and you certainly feel as if you are getting attacked, and I’m sure that both sides did,” Hoffman said.
“You use it as fuel to kind of galvanize your side. Hopefully, that energy stays with both ball clubs and they continue to play good baseball.”
Hoffman said to be successful, a pitcher has to pitch inside, but you have to know how to do it.
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Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Clark Sports Center July 24, 2022, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)
“You have to pitch in to be successful in this game. It’s just you have to learn how to pitch in. You can’t let some things get away from you, especially up above the shoulders,” Hoffman said.
The Dodgers are 48-31 and lead the NL West by 3½ games over the second-place San Francisco Giants. The Padres are 42-26 and are 5½ games behind the Dodgers.
The next time the two NL West rivals will face off is Aug. 15-17 in Los Angeles and Aug. 22-24 in San Diego.
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