Game 1 of the three-game series at Petco Park just concluded, and it saw the San Diego Padres tie the Dodgers for the NL West lead. The Padres started their series against the Dodgers on Friday with a division lead on the line. With the 2-1 win, the Padres improved to 73-56 while sliding the Dodgers to an identical record.

Shohei Ohtani’s struggling performance against the Rockies has raised questions about his MVP race among MLB fans.

Ohtani has only pitched one time in relief since coming over to MLB in 2018, and it wasn’t in a big-league game; he recorded the final three outs for Samurai Japan to close out the 2023 World Baseball Classic after starting the game as a designated hitter.

🚨NEWS: MLB & ESPN have an agreement to make the network the exclusive home of out-of-market games for all teams and in-market for five clubs, The Athletic has learned. Full details on MLB negotiations https://t.co/BtSGL0BujF