San Diego Padres star Xander Bogaerts praised the Los Angeles Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts for their bullpen strategy during their series win.

Let's take a look at the series against the Padres and a preview of the Giants, who come to town for three games.

The Dodgers and Padres squared off this week in their first of four 2025 regular-season series and the first rematch since the Southern California foes faced off in last year’s NLDS. With the Dodgers holding a one-game lead on both the Padres and Giants atop the NL West entering the series, the stakes were readily apparent.

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Wearing the No. 51 popularized in San Diego by Padres Hall of Fame reliever Trevor Hoffman, Alpine product Alex Vesia closed out L.A.’s victory with three strikeouts. The save was the left-hander’s 10th of his career and first in San Diego. After the final whiff, the Steele Canyon High School alum screamed several times.

The Dodgers' left fielder, who homered in the Dodgers' 5-2 victory Wednesday at Petco Park, praised the sold-out crowd of 45,481 following the series finale.