At the outset of play on July 4, the San Diego Padres were coming off a 2-4 trip through Cincinnati and Philadelphia and trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers by nine games in the National League West. On Friday night,

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been on quite a skid, and they're at risk of losing the National League West to the rival San Diego Padres.

The only team with an easier strength of schedule than the San Diego Padres is the one team that could steal the division from them.

Shohei Ohtani pitched for the first time as an opponent at Angel Stadium but saw the Dodgers lose their fourth straight -- and their grip on the top of the NL West.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani honestly shared his thoughts on Los Angeles losing its grip on the No. 1 spot in the NL West standings.

It's a tight race in the NL West, and the Padres are atop the division for the latest in a season since the 2010 season. With two big series coming up in August, the Padres have a chance to put some distance between themselves and the Dodgers for the division title, which they haven't done since 2006, nearly two decades ago.

The Padres didn’t do all they did at the Trade Deadline with the intention of merely sneaking into a Wild Card spot. No, they have their eyes squarely on the National League West \-\- a crown they haven’t worn in 19 years.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ lead in the National League West is down to one game for the first time since June 14 after their 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres’ 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday.