Nestor Cortes took a perfect game into the sixth inning and combined with the bullpen on a two-hitter in the 5-1 Padres win.

After a pair of brutal showing against the Padres, Dave Roberts revealed the lone bright spot in the Dodgers losses in San Diego.

Hits have been hard to come by for the Dodgers these past couple of days at Petco Park. After managing only a trio of knocks in the series opener, Los Angeles' bats picked up just two hits in Saturday night's 5-1 loss,

Gavin Sheets #30 of the San Diego Padres smiles after a single against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Petco Park on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres play two more in their weekend series at Petco Park, next entering a Saturday night first pitch in a first-place tie atop the National League West Division.

That’s because here, at Petco Park, they have consistently bottled successful baseball. Only one team, the league-leading Milwaukee Brewers, has a better winning percentage at home. The Padres have not lost a series in the East Village since the second week of June, when the Dodgers took two of three games.

It's a shame the Dodgers and Padres won't end the regular season against one another because the NL West title could still be in play 31 games from now.

Under-pressure Dodgers will look to level the series when they face Padres in Game 2 on Saturday at Petco Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praises Blake Snell after tough loss to the San Diego Padres in an NL West clash at Petco Park.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will begin a pivotal three-game series at Petco Park on Friday night that may determine who prevails in the National League West.  The Dodgers, who have spent 130 days in first place already this year,