Padres are under the Dodgers' skin and it shows

In the hours before Game 3 of the National League Divisional Series, Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Max Muncy said the San Diego Padres are “trying to get under their skin.”

Here's the thing: you're not just trying. They already have that.

The Manny Machado incident where he threw a ball near the Dodgers dugout is the perfect example. Clearly, Machado should have thrown the ball to another area, probably to the ball boy near the dugout. But the Dodgers' reaction, particularly manager Dave Roberts, was excessive and unnecessary for a pitch that slowly bounced into the Dodgers' dugout.

“There was intent behind it,” Roberts said. “It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very annoying. If it was directed at me, I would be very – it's pretty disrespectful. I don't know his intention. I don't want to speak for him. But I saw the video. And the ball was pointed at me with something behind it.”

The Dodgers provided video of the incident to Major League Baseball, a source confirmed a report from The Athletic. However, MLB is not expected to punish Machado or the Padres for the incident.

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And one more thing: The Padres don't just get under the Dodgers' skin. They also get under the skin of their entire fan base. Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar trolled Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles crowd when he robbed Betts of a home run in the first inning of Game 2. The crowd became more hostile when Flaherty hit Fernando Tatis Jr. and later when Tatis Jr. taunted the crowd in right field.

It crossed the line when fans began throwing objects at Padres players in the outfield. There never was and never will be a place for that in baseball. That's why the Padres urged fans to be on their best behavior and “show class and good sportsmanship to those around you in Games 3 and 4.”

And one more thing: It's unfortunate that these two incidents are damaging one of the best rivalries in baseball.

Of course, the Dodgers have long been the class of the National League West. The Padres have been chasing the Dodgers in the division for years. Most of the Padres' recent moves — including Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and countless others — have had multiple goals in mind: dethroning the Dodgers and winning a World Series championship.

In recent years, the Padres have beaten the Dodgers in their final playoff matchup, the 2022 National League Divisional Series. They won the regular season matchup against the Dodgers this season. But they haven't dethroned the Dodgers in the National League West and haven't advanced to the World Series since 1998.

However, this year's Padres team feels different. Especially since they took a 2-1 lead in the NLDS on Tuesday night.

These Padres are far more complete. In Mike Shildt, they have a calm, experienced manager at the helm who handled the Machado incident perfectly. They feel like a team more capable of dethroning the Dodgers — and advancing to the World Series — than any other team in recent history. Now they are just one win away.

That should be the story, not the Machado incident, which should never have been a story. And it shouldn't take anything away from what is shaping up to be one of the best series this postseason has to offer.