The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres has never lacked emotion, but it reached a boiling point during the 2024 National League Division Series. Though the Dodgers ultimately advanced, the Padres were their stiffest postseason challenge—a five-game slugfest marked by crowd hostility, on-field altercations, and a controversial incident involving two familiar faces: Dave Roberts and Manny Machado.
Tensions peaked during Game 2 when Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty hit Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. in the sixth inning. Padres third baseman Manny Machado, convinced it was intentional, exchanged heated words with Flaherty after striking out moments later. Flaherty’s parting shot—“Sit the f*** down”—only fanned the flames.
The animosity didn’t stop there. As Machado took the field for the bottom half of the inning, he tossed a ball toward the Dodgers’ dugout, coming dangerously close to hitting Roberts. Thanks to the protective netting, the ball didn’t connect. But for Roberts, the intent was clear.
“There was intent behind it,” Roberts later told reporters. “It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me… it’s pretty disrespectful.”
That meeting came earlier this season, with both clubs jockeying for early control of the division. In their first regular season clash since that fiery postseason, the Dodgers edged out the Padres in a dramatic 10-inning win. There was no obvious bad blood on display, but the history was impossible to ignore—especially as Machado voiced frustration with the umpiring after the loss.
Los Angeles Dodgers-Padres Rivalry Heats Up Again as Roberts and Machado Tensions Stemming From NLDS Flashpoint
As for Roberts and Machado, both seem ready to put the past behind them—even if the competitive fire hasn’t cooled.
“I haven’t talked to him,” Roberts said ahead of the recent Dodgers-Padres series. “I’m sure we’ll chat a little bit. There’s mutual respect.”
Roberts took a softer stance during the spring training meeting, emphasizing his continued admiration for his former player. “You’re in an intense series,” he said, via the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff Sanders. “He’s going to do whatever he can to help his team win, and I’m going to do the same. I love him like a son, and that’ll never change. But we’re both competitors.”
Machado echoed that sentiment in his own way last week: “The past is the past.”
With six matchups between the teams on the calendar over the next two weeks—and both teams loaded with World Series aspirations—it’s safe to say the past may be behind them, but the fire of this rivalry is still very much alive.