It was a fiery series finale between National League West-contending Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. The four-game series had already been won by the home team as they attempted to sweep their rivals.
The tempers flared when the hit-by-pitch saga continued into the ninth inning as Dodger reliever Jack Little threw a fastball right at Fernando Tatis Jr., who was immediately floored and needed a moment to recover. This was the second time in the series that Tatis was hit.
Benches Clear in Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres Finale
Little caught Tatis with a fastball directly on his hands. Immediately, Padres manager Mike Shildt exited the away team dugout and started walking to the home plate to confront the Los Angeles staff, led by skipper Dave Roberts. The two managers started to have a heated discussion near the home dugout, and Roberts even gave a slight shove to Shildt.
Benches had already been cleared by this point, and the players tried to support their respective managers and take them back to their respective dugouts. The umpires also intervened to calm Shildt and separate Roberts from him, while there was still a lot of gesturing going on between the two managers.
MORE: Dave Roberts, Mike Shildt Make Feelings Clear About Recent Hit-By-Pitches
The situation took a while to dial down, as this was the seventh time a player from either team had been HBP in the feisty four-game series. “Foul Territory” shared the video of the complete incident on X.
Benches cleared in Los Angeles between the Dodgers and Padres after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch.
This was the 6th HBP of the series.
(Via: @SportsNetLA)pic.twitter.com/UNM93RDPnX
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 20, 2025
During the ninth inning, Padres reliever Robert Suárez responded by hitting Shohei Ohtani. Suárez was immediately ejected from the game, and Ohtani was quick to signal to his dugout to stay put there and not escalate the incident any further. The two-way ace calmly jogged to first base and even had a friendly interaction with the players in the San Diego dugout.
Shohei Ohtani gets drilled up and in on a 3-0 pitch with a base open.
Robert Suárez was ejected from the game.
(Via: @SportsNetLA)pic.twitter.com/QapZFzP3Bk
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 20, 2025
After the game, Padres players and manager condemned the HBP incident led by Shildt, Manny Machado, and Tatis, who commented, “Enough is enough.” Roberts said in his postgame interview that the pitch was not intentional, and he too felt bad that Tatis got drilled.
Despite nearly mounting a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, San Deigo won, 5-3. The defending champions still won the series 3-1 and are now five games ahead of the third-place Padres in the NL West standings.