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:

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.

The San Diego Padres are out for revenge against the Los Angeles Dodgers, making some roster adjustments before their game on Saturday.

The San Diego Padres dropped their opening game of a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2, bringing them level with their rivals in the NL West.

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.

The last time the Padres won the NL West was in 2006, when their leadoff hitter was current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “The reality is we got here by putting emphasis on every day being the most important day of the season and that’s not going to change from my seat,” Shildt said.

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers play each other six times in 10 days starting with Friday night, and Fernando Tatis Jr. is pumped up for it.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted his team had a little bit of luck on their side after a ball kicked off of the heel of San Diego Padres third