The Los Angeles Dodgers have won six of their first eight games against the San Diego Padres this season, but that hasn't convinced some MLB analysts the defending champions will get through them in October.

Kershaw outpitched injured Padres starter Michael King’s replacement, Randy Vásquez, the bulk-innings pitcher. Vásquez went 3 2/3 innings and allowed two runs. He came in after reliever Wandy Peralta got four outs to open the game.

The Padres spent months chasing down -- and eventually overtaking -- the Dodgers in the National League West standings. Staying atop the division, it seems, will be another challenge entirely.

Darvish hasn't needed his bat since the National League adopted the designated hitter rule permanently in 2022. But he still warms up left-handed on occasion, as evidenced by this video posted to Twitter/X on Tuesday by Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla:

According to MLB Pipeline, the Padres' farm system after such a wild trade deadline ranked dead last in baseball. In the preseason, they ranked 25th, but after a wild deadline, Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com had an easy time ranking the Padres in last place.

Mookie Betts had a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the third inning, Teoscar Hernández homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat San Diego 3-2 on Friday night to tie the Padres atop the NL West.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw held the stance he took before the Dodgers' series against the San Diego Padres, keeping his eyes on Octobe

The Dodgers have quelled plenty of challengers during their reign in the division, but the Padres have shown enough staying power to fuel increasingly contentious bouts.