Sunday’s victory hardly made up for the fateful loss of a championship to the Houston Astros eight years ago, but it did finish off a sweep of the San Diego Padres as the Dodgers regained their grip on first place in the National League West.

Betts’ eighth-inning home run breaks a 4-4 tie and completes the sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Padres. It also extends a hot streak born of a different approach.

Mookie Betts hits a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Sunday.

On Friday morning, the Padres were in first place, having won 14 of their last 17 games, with an opportunity to put a little distance between themselves and the Goliath just up I-5. Instead, the Dodgers reminded us all who they are, sweeping the Padres and re-taking the NL West lead by two games.

YouTube The San Diego Padres walked into Dodger Stadium, on Friday, with a one-game lead in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers. They left, on Sunday, two games behind the Dodgers after being swept over the weekend.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/padres as Padres Pitcher Doesn't Like Facing the Dodgers for One Major Reason. San Diego Padres relief pitcher Yuki Matsui revealed he doesn't like facing the Los Angeles Dodgers due to the heightened media coverage around him when he faces off against two-way player Shohei Ohtani.

LOS ANGELES — It was touted as the biggest series of the month. It was billed as a potential passing of the torch, with the San Diego Padres threatening to win the National League West for the first time in 19 years. Instead, Sunday’s finale ended in a three-game sweep — and a relatively convincing one, at that.

Padres Swept by Dodgers After Gaining Control of NL West

The Padres' de facto captain left the job of explaining a three-game series sweep in Los Angeles to his younger, less experienced teammates on Sunday.