Suddenly falling to second place, the Dodgers must give their all in six games against the Padres over the next ten days.

Since the Dodgers lost to the Angels 5-6 yesterday, they haven't found themselves in this position for quite some time: ranked second in the National League West, relinquishing the top spot to the thriving Padres.

As for how long it's been, that depends on your perspective.

For this season, the Dodgers haven't ended any day in second place since April 27. Looking back further, it's been even longer since they shared the top position this late in the season.

The reigning World Series champions led the way last year. Before that, they hadn't given up the division lead since July 14, 2023, and June 18, 2022. Prior to Wednesday, the last time the Dodgers were ranked second after flipping the calendar to August was in 2021, when they lost the NL West title to the Giants.

The Dodgers couldn't have anticipated that, after leading by a season-high nine games on July 3, they would plummet to their current ranking in just 41 days.

“We are where we are. We put ourselves in this position,” said head coach Dave Roberts. “But I really didn't expect us to be in second place right now.”

After a team day off today, the Dodgers will face the current division-leading Padres in six games over the next ten days. They will begin tomorrow with a three-game series at Dodger Stadium against their divisional rivals, followed by another three games on the road next weekend.

The last time these two teams met was two months ago, and emotions were running high. Both Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt were at the center of the dramatic conflict. However, despite the external noise, the Dodgers are focusing on what they can control internally to get back on track.

“I think the games will dictate what happens,” said shortstop Mookie Betts. “We just need to keep controlling the few things we can, which are our effort and our attitude. After that, everything will fall into place.”

As the Padres closed the nine-game gap, they played better baseball while the Dodgers experienced their worst stretch of the season. Since July 3, Los Angeles has a record of 12 wins and 21 losses, while San Diego has gone 23 wins and 12 losses.

During that time, the Padres made significant moves to bolster their roster before the MLB trade deadline (July 31). The Dodgers also made some marginal improvements, but they ultimately hope to turn things around through player health and the inherent talent of their roster.

Given all the stakes, the clashes between the Dodgers and Padres have become particularly intense in recent years.

“I think we've clearly dominated this division over the past decade,” Roberts said. “Geographically speaking, I believe they are trying to surpass us in winning the division title. I think with that comes emotional swings. A few years ago, they beat us in the playoffs, and that was one thing, while we (last year) defeated them.”

The night before, when the Padres tied the Dodgers in the standings, Roberts described it as a new season for his team. What they did before is no longer important—though, by winning five of the first seven games against the Padres, they find themselves in a favorable position to win a potential tiebreaker in the playoffs.

Now, everything depends on how the Dodgers respond to the upcoming schedule. And it all starts this weekend.

“Clearly, falling to second place and losing so many games feels bad,” said two-way star Shohei Ohtani through translator Will Ireton. “We're doing everything we can, holding some close meetings, doing everything we can to turn this around. We just need to do better.”