This past week in the Bronx, the Boston Red Sox could’ve swept their arch rivals, holding a 3-0 advantage in the four-game set. Instead, they fell 7-2 in the finale, snapping an eight-game winning streak against the Yankees. It marked the longest streak against the Yankees since 2009. Until recent times, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry remained untouchable. They have a history that goes 100 years back, with both being one of the oldest teams in Major League Baseball. While their rivalry remains a classic, the contemporary excitement in the league lately is shifting elsewhere.

The Dodgers-Padres are the new Yankees-Red Sox. These National League West rivals have turned their matchups into nothing short of thrillers. Their last regular-season series wrapped up Sunday at Petco Park, with the Dodgers claiming an 8-2 victory.

That win, combined with their 9-4 advantage in the season series, pushed them back into first place after a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker. Playing thirteen games this season, the Dodgers and the Padres have established their name as the most fierce rivalry in the league. In fact, their June series was labelled as the “bad blood series.”

In that sense, it’s quite clear why Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic was rock solid about which rivalry reigns prime in the league right now. While speaking on Foul Territory, he said, “I want to talk about which is the better one right now. Frankly? I don’t even see it as close. Give me Dodgers-Padres right now over Yankees-Red Sox.” The Dodgers-Padres rivalry doesn’t have the century-long legacy of Yankees-Red Sox. Yet, that’s not the only criterion.

To further back up his claim, Rosenthal said, “The Dodgers and Padres are better teams. Yes, the Red Sox are coming and they’ve got some exciting players and the Yankees, of course, have Aaron judge. But the Dodgers and Padres right now are two of the elite teams in the game.” The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is sure historic and has been going on for over 100 years. However, as Rosenthal sees it, the Padres-Dodgers rivalry is the far more exciting one in the MLB because they’ve more established stars on both sides. For example, the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

On the Padres side, Rosenthal said, they’ve got Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Jackson Merrill. It’s the star power and their clash that make the Dodgers-Padres rivalry a better one than Red Sox-Yankees.

One of the Top Moments of the Dodgers-Padres Rivalry

For nearly fifty years, The Dodgers and Padres have shared the same division and Southern California neighborhood. But for most of that time, their matchups rarely felt like a true rivalry. That has completely changed in 2025. Now, every time they face off, these two teams carry a lot of tension and drama.

More than their latest series, the intensity was on full display during a wild stretch in June. In the span of 11 days, the Padres and Dodgers played each other seven times. Both managers were ejected, tempers flared and benches cleared. Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani were hit by pitches in the same series multiple times.

In fact, Padres manager Mike Shildt yelled towards Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after a hit-by-pitch. Roberts responded by coming out of the dugout and he bumped into Shildt, sparking a lot of chaos. The only one who remained calm was Ohtani, who himself was hit many times.

Even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has acknowledged the intensity of this rivalry. Just a fortnight ago, he admitted, “I think that this rivalry part is certainly real.” Do you also feel the same about the Dodgers-Padres new narrative?