Another difficult Padres reality surfaces after series loss to Dodgers

As if the Padres needed another reminder that the Dodgers are already hard enough to deal with. After a series loss to Los Angeles, the obvious Padres frustration is going to land on the usual spots. Not enough offense. Missed opportunities. A familiar feeling that the Dodgers don’t need to dominate in every facet to make any team pay.

Tanner Scott was another part of the series that should probably bother the Padres just as much. His first season with the Dodgers was not good. There were enough shaky moments in 2025 to wonder whether the Dodgers had overpaid for a reliever. Not like anyone would have felt bad for them. But Padres fans know what that’s like. Every contender has to talk itself into a bullpen talent at some point.

This year? Different story.

Scott has looked like a full-on problem again. So far this season, he’s pitched to a 1.37 ERA with a 0.61 WHIP, striking out 20 hitters in 19 2/3 innings.

Tanner Scott’s Dodgers rebound makes this rivalry even more annoying for the Padres

It’s no secret that the Dodgers' lineup is a headache. Shohei Ohtani can wreck a game by himself. Los Angeles has enough star power that we don’t need to spend 500 words investigating their billion-dollar secret. The secret is the billion dollars.

The question was always whether the Dodgers would give teams a few doors to kick open late. Last year, that was Scott. This season, he’s more like a deadbolt.

Scott settling into a shutdown setup role gives Dave Roberts another lever to pull before the ninth inning. It means Los Angeles doesn’t have to totally depend on its offense to carry them across the finish line. 

The Padres aren’t a helpless team watching it all play out. They have enough star power to win this rivalry, and enough bullpen talent of their own to make close games feel downright lugubrious for opponents.

But the real problem is that the Dodgers keep finding ways to make their strengths travel deeper into the game.

Scott’s rebound is not even the loudest Dodgers-centric storyline. It’s not going to get anything close to the oxygen that Ohtani gets. You can’t exactly package a rivalry moment or heated exchange around Tanner Scott’s face, unless, of course, he throws at a Padres star. But still, it might be more important than that.

The Padres can talk themselves into a lot after a series loss. And it all can be true. But Scott looking dominant again creates another uncomfortable layer. After another series loss to Los Angeles, that might be the most frustrating reality of all.

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