WATCH: Dodgers fan punches Padres supporter as intense rivalry led to ugly altercation in subway
Over the past few years, the NL West rivalry has shifted from the Dodgers-Giants to the Dodgers-Padres matchup. From both teams trying to edge out each other during the offseason to the ensuing on-field conflicts, the rivalry has lived up to its expectations. That again was the case on Wednesday; only this time, it was something between their fans.
After the LA Dodgers dropped their second straight game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, two fans from both teams got into a fight in the subway. In a video that was released on social media, one Dodgers fan (wearing an Ohtani jersey) got into a verbal altercation with a Padres supporter.
Soon, with both not stopping, the Dodgers fan threw a punch at the Padres supporter who retaliated before passengers near them were able to stop the fight.
Padres sweeps Dodgers; wins Game 2 8-1
On Tuesday, the San Diego Padres surged a comeback out of nowhere in the ninth, to tie the game at 5-5, before earning a walk-off victory in front of a record Padres attendance at Petco Park. However, on Wednesday, the second and last game of the series saw little to no fight from the Dodgers who went on to lose the game with a score of 8-1.
It was expected to be a top drawer matchup with Dylan Cease coming off a no-hitter outing and Dodgers' veteran southpaw, and three time Cy Young winner, Clayton Kershaw taking the mound for the LA side.
Cease lived up to the expectations, allowing only one run on three hits in 5.1 innings of work. On the other hand, the Padres hitters took Kershaw to the cleaners, scoring seven runs (three earned) during his 3.2 innings. The Dodgers' errors in the field also didn't help as they committed three that night.
The lone score from the Dodgers side came from Gavin Lux's RBI hit that drove in Nick Ahmed in the third innings.
With the loss, the Dodgers have dropped to 63-46, while the Padres have improved to 59-51. This means that the home team only trails 4.5 games to the Dodgers for the NL West lead. Arizona Diamondbacks are also just trailing by five games.
The NL West field has since become competitive and it remains to be seen if the star-studded Dodgers could come out as a division leader once the regular season concludes.