Uniqlo Field At Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles

The San Diego Padres traveled to Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium to begin a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The teams recently played each other at Petco Park in what was a series loss for the Padres, but now they’re back for a rematch.

At the moment, both teams’ momentum couldn’t be more different. The Padres just had their franchise’s worst five-game stretch; meanwhile, the Dodgers took two of three against the Athletics.

Both teams already met last week at Petco Park, which seemed to begin the rapid downward spiral of a mentally broken Padres squad. However, like everything, the Friars are taking it one day at a time.

On the pitching side of things, both starters, Roki Sasaki and Randy Vazquez, have the chance to redeem themselves for their previous starts against their respective teams. As is the case with every series in the Chavez Ravine, things were far from business as usual.

The Padres got to work immediately. A double by Fernando Tatis Jr. turned into a triple after a wild pitch to Jake Cronenworth got out of Dalton Rushing’s glove. After Cronenworth got called out at first, Manny Machado turned on a slider that became a two-run homer.

That was pretty 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/jc87bAfYZq

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2026

Despite their best efforts, nobody else managed to get on base, but it was a fantastic comeback from their previous game.

A hit from Ohtani got the Dodgers’ side of things started. Vázquez pulled through the next few hitters, but a comebacker from Mookie Betts landed on his push-off leg. It still resulted in an out, but it’s not what you want in your first inning. Despite the fanfare, Vazquez made it out scoreless.

The Padres, meanwhile, continued their slugfest with an immediate homer from Jackson Merrill. Followed by a ground-rule double from Xander Bogaerts.

All about that action. pic.twitter.com/qInQ4hbD1X

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2026

Freddy Fermin wasn’t able to join the party but did move Bogaerts over to third. A walk from Fernando put him on base, and then it was up to Cronenworth to knock them in. A splitter on the outer half went outside the park to add the Padres’ home run count to three on the night.

You have entered the Crone Zone. pic.twitter.com/hBSdLwp92W

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2026

Two more men would reach base, but a pop-up from Ty France would grant Sasaki some relief.

Vázquez came back to battle despite his injury, but a two-run shot from Rushing would put the Dodgers on the board. Fortunately for Vazquez, that was all she wrote.

Sasaki continued to shake, but no runners would score in the third. At that point, he had already thrown almost 90 pitches to record those nine outs.

The Dodgers managed to cut the lead in half on their turn thanks to a liner from Max Muncy, knocking in Betts. Kyle Tucker would join in on the slugfest as well, knocking in Muncy. A double play ended the inning, but the score would be a lot closer than it was before.

Rokis’ night ended in the third, and in for him was Dodgers reliever Will Klein, who gave the club a one-two-three inning.

The Padres followed suit, packing Randy Vazquez up, and in came Wandy Peralta. Two immediate hits put the team in a dire situation, and a double from Andy Pages put the Padres and Dodgers back on equal footing.

What was a 6-0 lead was now a tie game within three innings. Two more runs scored off hits from Betts and Muncy put the Dodgers over the Padres 8-6. Then, in an inning that seemed endless, a strikeout from Teoscar Hernandez put it to an end.

The Padres’ bullpen was uncharacteristically off balance. Peralta, after going scoreless for 18 straight innings scoreless, surrendered four today. Similarly, Yuki Matsui, who’s been one of the club’s most reliable arms, allowed two runs.

In other news, joining the Padres bullpen today was German Marquez.

Before the game began, The Padres X account announced Jason Adam would be placed on the 15-day IL due to a strain in his right shoulder. Meanwhile, German Marquez was reinstated after spending a while rehabbing in the minors. Marquez seemed pretty happy about his return, saying his arm felt 100%.

We have placed RHP Jason Adam on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain (retro to 6/30) and reinstated RHP Germán Márquez from the 15-day IL.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 2, 2026

Marquez pitched three innings of two-run ball tonight. All in all, not too bad.

The Padres did not score past the second inning until they were on their last three outs. A two-out rally from Samad Taylor and Miguel Andujar turned into a run. However, right when things got going, France grounded out to Betts. This brought the game to its final score of 12-7.

The same cannot be said about the Dodgers. They clawed back from a six-run deficit and doubled the score by the eighth inning.

For the Padres, it’s another tough loss to the Dodgers after last week’s outing.

The Padres return to Uniqlo Field to continue their series into the weekend. On the Mound for the Padres and Dodgers are Michael King (5-7, 3.55 ERA) and Shohei Ohtani (8-2, 1.58 ERA), respectively.

Fabian Garcia