Welcome to the National League West, which the Padres know is far from a one-team show four weeks into the season.
Going into Saturday’s games, the Padres (17-9), Giants (17-10), Dodgers (16-10) and Diamondbacks (14-12) are all off to a good start, foreshadowing a potentially heart-pounding summer race.
The Friars are playing well largely thanks to Fernando Tatis Jr., who is off to a torrid start with a .347 batting average, eight homers and 18 RBIs. He added two more hits Saturday, and drove in the Padres’ lone run in a 4-1 loss to the Rays. Dylan Cease gave up two earned runs to take the loss.
Veteran starting pitchers Nick Pivetta and Michael King, though, have led the rotation while closer Robert Suarez hasn’t given up a run this season and leads the NL with 10 saves.
“Obviously, we’re aware to some degree of what is taking place in the division and in the league, but our energy — my energy — is not about what anyone else is doing. It is on what we do,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We’re spending our time and efforts on taking care of ourselves, because if we don’t do that, nothing else is going to matter.”
The big-spending Dodgers have not underperformed this season. Los Angeles has a .640 winning percentage through 25 games, which translates to a 104-win pace. That’s right where everyone pretty much expected them to be.
Instead, it’s the great play from the Padres and Giants — and to a lesser extent the D-backs — that has set up a dramatic summer.
Since baseball split the NL and AL into three divisions in 1994, the 2002 AL West has the record for the highest winning percentage with a .566 mark.
“For us, who are so close to it, not surprised,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “They’re all very good teams. I think it’s the best division in baseball.”
So far, the 2025 version of the NL West is off to a .544 start — and that’s including the Colorado Rockies, who at 4-21 have the worst record in baseball. Take out the Rockies, and the other four teams have combined for a .634 winning percentage.
“It’s gonna be a battle the entire season,” Giants third baseman Matt Chapman said. “We knew the Dodgers are the Dodgers, the Padres are really, really good and so are the Diamondbacks.”
The Dodgers continue to be the undeniable favorites to win the division. Los Angeles is off to a quality start despite injuries and ailments that have struck Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and former Padre Blake Snell.
A good first month from Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández at the plate have showcased L.A,’s depth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks like a potential NL Cy Young award winner and superstar Shohei Ohtani has slugged six homers with his return to the mound looming.
The Giants – they won Saturday to move a half-game ahead of the Padres in the NL West – are arguably the division’s biggest surprise, led by a productive lineup that includes Jung Hoo Lee, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Chapman. Right-hander Logan Webb has been dominant.
The D-backs have been more inconsistent than their division rivals, but are still lurking. Outfielder Corbin Carroll, like Tatis, is off to an MVP-caliber start with a .321 batting average and nine homers.
Manager Torey Lovullo echoed others when he said he’s aware of the division’s excellence, but tries not to dwell on it.
Being in the NL West might prove particularly stressful — but fun — this summer.
“At the end of the day, it makes everyone crazy,” Lovullo said, grinning.
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