After a Dodgers sweep in L.A., it was the Padres' turn to make gains, as they took two of three at Petco to briefly pull ahead in the division – and rise up to No. 6 in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings.

Freddie Freeman homered in back-to-back innings, rookie Dalton Rushing hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh and the Los Angeles Dodgers evened the NL West race once again with an 8-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

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.

A heckler next to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout spent his entire Sunday giving an earful to the visitors, including a nonstop barrage of digs and chirps at Shohei Ohtani for his hitless performance in a portentous weekend series against the San Diego Padres.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani isn't usually one to showboat, but he had an animated moment in Sunday's win over the San Diego Padres.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen out of the top spot in the NL West, but they’ll aim to get a game back on Sunday in a pick’em scenario against the San Diego

Get the best Dodgers vs. Padres predictions ahead of Sunday's NL West showdown at PETCO Park. Free MLB picks for August 24.

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