It wasn’t just a bad night—it felt personal. The Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into St. Louis hoping to turn the page last Friday. Instead, they got shut out, outplayed, and outsmarted in a 5-0 loss that only highlighted the cracks they had been trying to cover up. The bats had gone silent, the pitching was in a game of musical chairs, and the other side dominated like they had something to prove. Now, after a few days, Dodgers star Max Muncy has come out to talk about the face-off. And he is far from sugarcoating it.

For Muncy, the Dodgers didn’t just lose—they got abused.

“We had some bad at-bats, and we had some at-bats that resulted in good contact, just didn’t get the result,” Muncy said, talking about his team’s flat performance. There is one player in particular who scarred Muncy—and the Dodgers.

Talking to Foul Territory, Muncy said, “Sonny in particular… the data on the sinker wasn’t that great, so he wasn’t throwing it a ton. And then against us, he abused us with the sinker, and it was really good.” That’s exactly the game that Muncy was talking about. Sonny Gray (7-1) had tossed 6⅓ scoreless innings, allowing eight hits without issuing a single walk. Gray even struck out five and even handed things off to JoJo Romero, Phil Maton, and Steven Matz to finish the job.

Meanwhile, LA just flickered to a 1-for-13 mark with runners in scoring position and stranded nine. Pedro Pagés launched a two-run homer, and Brendan Donovan delivered a two-run single. Willson Contreras tacked on a solo shot. And Nolan Arenado went 3-for-4. The Cardinals were not just better—they were sharper in every way.

Now, it’s no secret that the pitching staff is bruised with 15 pitchers on the injured list. So far, LA has used 13 different starters in just 64 games. But what’s worrisome is that, aside from pitching, the offense has also gone cold in June, hitting just .228 as a team. Given that the Dodgers have to face the Padres in seven of their next ten games, the offense better heat up soon. One shutout loss can be forgettable, but the team cannot afford for it to be a trend.

Padres shrug off extra-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers

If you think that the LA vs. St. Louis drama was it, well, things are getting more heated as the Dodgers now face the Padres. Just ahead of the series, Dave Roberts was asked about the rivalry and the tension, and he completely brushed it off. He said facing the Padres is just another day in the office. Anytime they face off, there is a certain fireworks—but if Roberts says so! Meanwhile, even the Padres are not backing down from the competition, even after the first face-off didn’t go in their favor.

The Padres have lost 8-7 in extras, but they are far from backing down. According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the vibe in the Padres clubhouse is not, “Oh no, we have to face the Dodgers again.” It’s more like, “Let’s run it back.” Jackon Merrill, in fact, after the loss, said, “They played their game. We played our game…. That’s going to happen. We’re going to lose by one sometimes. We’re going to win by one. Tomorrow’s a new day.” The Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta also chimed in. He said that it’s too early to comment on anything; for him, both teams are extraordinary. In simple words, he asked fans not to count the Padres out just yet.

But here is the deal: this series has two more games left. If the Padres win both of them, they will be tied with LA and sit atop the NL West. Plus, they will be facing LA again next week for four straight games at Dodger Stadium. So yeah, call it chill if you want. But over the next seven games, this division showdown is going to decide more than just the bragging rights. Who do you think will come out on top? Let us know.