1 of 4 | Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pushed San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt during a ninth-inning scuffle Thursday in Los Angeles. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pushed his San Diego Padres counterpart, Mike Shildt, as benches cleared during a ninth-inning quarrel between the MLB rivals at Dodger Stadium.
The confrontation occurred after Dodgers pitcher Jack Little hit Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. with a 93-mph fastball Thursday in Los Angeles. Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson ejected Shildt and Roberts.
“The fact of the matter is it’s a good rivalry,” Shildt told reporters. “It’s a good, hard-fought baseball rivalry. I don’t want it to get to a point it got to and accelerated to. But we got to the ninth not in isolation. We got to the ninth over a combination of things.”
Tensions steamed throughout the series after earlier perceived infractions and eventually boiled over in the finale of the series, which included eight hit-by-pitch sequences. Ohtani and Tatis were hit twice each.
Benches clear in the 9th inning of the Padres-Dodgers game in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ugfVSFmqtS— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025
“They like to pitch in, they are aggressive pitching in,” Shildt said. “That’s fine. People pitch Tati in. He’s been hit five times by this group and played a lot of dodgeball.”
The Padres carried a 5-0 lead into the top of the ninth Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
Little struck out Padres third baseman Martin Maldonado to lead off the inning. Tatis then settled in against the rookie right-handed relief pitcher, who was making his MLB debut. Little painted the bottom-inside corner with a strike to start the exchange. He then missed the zone with a splitter. He hit Tatis in the left arm with his final fling.
Tatis immediately fell to the ground. Shildt proceeded to step out of the Padres dugout and shouted toward the field, before focusing his attention on Roberts. The Dodgers’ manager then walked up the steps and toward Shildt before using his right arm to nudge the Padres manager, triggering more chaos as both benches spilled onto the field.
Players eventually returned to the dugouts and the game resumed. Trenton Brooks replaced Tatis as a pinch runner, but was stranded as Little retired Padres first baseman Luis Arraez and third baseman Manny Machado to end the inning.
Padres relief pitcher Sean Reynolds walked Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and third baseman Max Muncy to start the bottom of the ninth. Left fielder Andy Pages flew out to left center in the next exchange.
Relief pitcher Robert Suarez, who replaced Reynolds, then allowed an RBI single to Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman and an RBI groundout to center fielder Hyeseong Kim, bringing Ohtani to the plate.
Suarez missed the strike zone with three-consecutive fastballs before hitting Ohtani in the upper back area with a 99.8-mph heater. Fans yelled in response to the hit, but Ohtani looked toward the Dodgers bench and waved his teammates off so they didn’t run on the field.
Hudson ejected Suarez and Padres bench coach Brian Esposito in response to the hit-by-pitch.
Shohei Ohtani plays peacemaker at the end of another wild game between the Padres and Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/V03xUugs8z— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025
Yuki Matsui, who replaced Suarez, walked Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas in the next exchange. He then threw a wild pitch, giving the Dodgers their third and final run. Matsui struck out catcher Dalton Rushing to end the night.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that there was “no intent there,” when asked about Little hitting Tatis. He also said Shildt bothered him by staring him down when he came out of the Padres dugout.
“I think anyone would understand there’s no intent there,” Roberts said. “And even by my reaction, I didn’t feel good about Tatis, a great player, good guy, getting hit. I didn’t feel good about it.
“So, as [Shildt] comes out, and he’s yelling at me and staring me down, that bothers me, because, to be quite frank, that’s the last thing I want. … I took that personal because I understand the game and know that it doesn’t feel good to get hit, but understand, again, intent versus clearly no intent.”
Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts went 4 for 4 with a home run, double, three runs scored and an RBI in the win. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI for the Padres. Designated hitter Jose Iglesias drove in two runs in the win.
Tatis went 0 for 4, while Ohtani went 1 for 4 for the Dodgers. Second baseman Tommy Edman reached base four times. He went 2 for 2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored.
Padres starter Ryan Bergert allowed three hits and no runs over 4 2/3 innings, but was not on record for a decision. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed seven hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings to drop to 6-6 this season.
Shildt said Tatis was taken back for X-rays, which returned negative results. The Padres outfielder hit .270 with 13 home runs, 15 stolen bases and 31 RBIs through his first 72 games this season.
“The initial X-ray was negative, but it’s not in a good place,” Shildt said of Tatis. “You are messing with people’s careers, messing with people’s seasons. But again, we’ve got a guy in there getting drilled and getting X-rays. That’s not good enough. That’s not cool, man. He’s our dude and I’ve got him. I’ve got our whole club.”
The Padres (40-34) are 3-7 over their last 10 games and sit in third place in the National League West, five games behind the division-leading Dodgers (46-30).
“Before this series — and I can back this up with complete evidence and track records speak for themselves — teams I manage don’t get into altercations like this because teams I manage don’t throw at people,” Shildt said.
“But, also, teams I manage don’t take anything. And after a while, I’m not going to take it. I’m not going to take it on behalf of Tati or on behalf of our team, intentional or unintentional. It’s really that simple. That’s how this game is played.
“If you want to call that old school, then yeah we’ll play old-school baseball.”
The Padres will host the Kansas City Royals (37-38) at 9:40 p.m. EDT Friday in San Diego. The Dodgers, who lead the National League in wins, will host the Washington Nationals (31-44) at 10:10 p.m. Friday at Dodger Stadium.
