Home cooking has served the teams well in the Padres-Dodgers showdowns this month.<\/p>\n
Nestor Cortes took a perfect game into the sixth inning and combined with the bullpen on a two-hitter as the Padres knocked the Dodgers out of first place with a 5-1 victory at Petco Park Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ram\u00f3n Laureano had a two-run single in the fourth and Xander Bogaerts added a two-run double in the eighth for the Friars<\/a> (74-56), who surged ahead of the Dodgers (73-57) during the archrivals\u2019 final series of the regular season. <\/p>\n They\u2019ve allowed Los Angeles just five hits and two runs in\u00a0back-to-back wins<\/a> and have a chance to take all three games at Petco from LA.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last two nights, when you get six out of your starter, and then you\u2019re able to take a lead, go to your guys and then add on, that recipe usually tastes the best,\u201d manager Mike Shildt said.<\/p>\n After getting swept at Dodger Stadium last weekend, and dropping the opening game of their current home stand, the Padres have won their last five games.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve also done it for most of this week without Jackson Merrill. The Padres put him on the injured list Saturday for the third time this season, making this move retroactive to Aug. 20. Merrill has been moving with a limp since he rolled his ankle at the plate on Aug. 15, suffering a bone bruise.<\/p>\n The pitching staff, though, stepped up for the second straight day. Cortes (2-2) infamously gave up\u00a0Freddie Freeman\u2019s walk-off grand slam<\/a>\u00a0while pitching for the Yankees in last year\u2019s World Series, but the veteran left-hander thoroughly shut down the Dodgers this time around. In doing so, he matched Yu Darvish\u2019s six innings of one-hit ball Friday.<\/p>\n Ram\u00f3n is for real \ud83e\udd18 pic.twitter.com\/zOeYsuIeHM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In his fourth start since joining the Padres at the July 31 trade deadline, Cortes retired the Dodgers\u2019 first 16 batters before Miguel Rojas\u2019 sixth-inning single.<\/p>\n \u201cHe got into a rhythm right from the very first batter,\u201d Shildt said.<\/p>\n Adrian Morejon got four outs for his third save.<\/p>\n The Dodgers have lost four of six and are in second place for only the second day since April 27 (the Padres briefly overtook them ahead<\/a> of last week\u2019s series). Freeland, a rookie, connected off Jeremiah Estrada in the eighth to homer in his second straight game.<\/p>\n Tyler Glasnow (1-2) yielded two runs and three hits with four walks in four innings. Glasnow\u2019s hard luck continued, despite it being his birthday Saturday. He is winless in 12 starts since March despite pitching fairly well.<\/p>\n Nick Pivetta (13-4, 2.81) takes the mound in the series finale Sunday against Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-8, 2.90 ERA).<\/p>\n \t\n