Sunday’s victory hardly made up for the fateful loss of a championship to the Houston Astros eight years ago, but it did finish off a sweep of the San Diego Padres as the Dodgers regained their grip on first place in the National League West.

The Padres entered their weekend series at Dodger Stadium in unfamiliar territory at this juncture of a season -- in first place. They had overturned a nine-game deficit and rode a five-game winning streak into Los Angeles.

Jason Adam sent the Dodgers hitless over their last 16 plate appearances since the Pages home run, but the Dodgers were able to finally put runners on base with a pair of two-out singles from Teoscar Hernández and Pages, but pinch hitter Alex Call struck out swinging against Adrián Morejón.

Then Betts rescued the Dodgers with the 394-foot shot to left-center off Robert Suarez. It was the shortstop’s 13th homer of the season and just his fifth since June. Betts had 25 in 2022 and 39 in 2023.

Mookie Betts hits a home run in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Dodgers past the Padres and into a two-game lead in the NL West.

Magic Johnson is a big part of the Los Angeles professional teams. With the bullpen going down a rough patch, he has highlighted someone that has been a bright spot.

Mookie Betts hits a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Sunday.

The Dodgers, leaning on contributions from those who had been struggling, including the bullpen, completed a three-game sweep of the rival Padres on Sunday to regain control of the NL West.

Against their top division rivals, the Dodgers found their intensity and urgency that had been missing as they recaptured the lead in the NL West

The Los Angeles Dodgers are beating the San Diego Padres when it counts, and it's especially sweet for an ex-Padres star.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres MLB game from August 15, 2025 on ESPN.

Los Angeles is now two games up in the standings, with a 71-53 record. The Dodgers are on the road for a four game series at Colorado, before these two teams meet up again next weekend, this time in San Diego. The Padres are now 69-55, and will start a four game series against the Giants on Monday.