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Dodgers late-season roll halted by Padres, reigniting one big World Series concern

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Cite

Harris, J. (2026, September 25). Dodgers late-season roll halted by Padres, reigniting one big World Series concern. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/25/sports/dodgers-roll-halted-by-padres-raising-new-concern-before-playoffs/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-25 · by Jack Harris

Quick Summary

The Los Angeles Dodgers' late-season winning streak came to an end with a 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday. This defeat highlights concerns about how the team performs against strong competition, as they are just 25-28 this season and 2-14 in their last two months when facing playoff-bound teams. Despite clinching the NL West division title and securing a first-round bye, the Dodgers struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities, going 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position during the series against the Padres.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is expected to return from the injured list on Wednesday after spending two weeks nursing right arm and left knee injuries. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed this, stating that unless something changes, Ohtani will be in the lineup. Although Ohtani's health has improved significantly since he went on the IL on September 11th, concerns remain about his full recovery before the postseason begins less than two weeks later.

In a match-up against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Ohtani made a strong return but was still not at his best form. He hit a single and drew a walk in four plate appearances during a 5-1 loss to San Diego that ended the Dodgers' 11-game home winning streak.

The Padres clinched their franchise-record third consecutive postseason berth on Thursday, beating the Dodgers 4-2 with help from RBI singles by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ethan Salas in the seventh inning. This victory narrowed the gap between the two teams for a top NL seed heading into October.

Written for “Dodgers Playoff Race Concerns” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Dodgers Playoff Race Concerns
Sports · 7 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 40 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different games and outcomes involving the Dodgers against different teams (Padres vs. Giants) on separate days.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100
New York Post
Hedges 5 of 26 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events related to the Dodgers but occurring on separate dates with distinct focuses: one discusses a game against the Padres, while the other covers potential roster decisions for the playoffs.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different games and timelines involving the Dodgers, with Article A referring to a game against the Padres on September 25th while Article B discusses Blake Snell's return in a win over the Giants on September 26th.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss the upcoming series between the Padres and Dodgers, they describe different points in time and contexts surrounding the games.”
New York Post
Hedges 5 of 32 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Dodgers' performance over time and do not describe the same specific game or incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 27 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different games; ARTICLE A mentions a game against the Padres that halted the Dodgers' late-season roll, while ARTICLE B describes a season finale win over the Giants.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A is a general update on MLB postseason standings and health updates for players, while Article B reports on a specific game between the Dodgers and Padres.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16741 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jack Harris
92 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 What Friedman didn’t do, however, was say that the Dodgers would be all-in on Skubal this winter, or that they would do whatever it takes to lock him up in a free agency process that is expected to end with the soon-to-be 30-year-old breaking Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s record guarantee of $325 million for a pitcher.
🔮 After the team was eliminated from the National League Championship Series last week, Ohtani said he was not sure if he would need any offseason procedures.
🔮 When a new CBA is struck, and what changes to the league’s financial structure it could possibly entail, is still anyone’s guess.
🔮 This season, the group couldn’t replicate that success, enduring adversity during an injury-plagued regular season and then failure against a relentless Brewers offense in the team’s National League Championship Series elimination.
🔮 “Yes, definitely,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Thursday night, when asked if he intended to return to pitching in 2027.
🔮 Rojas will remain in the Dodgers’ organization moving forward, having agreed to transition into player development after 2026 when he re-signed as a free agent with the club this winter.
🔮 Instead, despite a 100-win regular season and league-record $432 million payroll, the two-time defending champions were eliminated in the National League Championship Series by the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, ending their bid for history and sending them into an uncertain offseason –– one that could include an extended lockout, notable changes to the roster, and existential questions about how to retool around their aging veteran core.
🔮 Just a fourth-straight loss and an embarrassing elimination that will send the Dodgers into a long, regretful winter full of future uncertainty.
🔮 After striking out in his first at-bat Thursday night, Ohtani delivered the kind of moment the Dodgers had been waiting for all October, unloading on a down-and-in cutter from ex-Dodger Dustin May to give the Dodgers an early 4-0 lead in their elimination game.
🔮 Whenever the offseason arrives, notable changes could be coming to the Dodgers’ clubhouse. Freeman and Muncy won’t be going anywhere, nor will other core veterans such as Mookie Betts, Will Smith or Shohei Ohtani. But Miguel Rojas is likely to retire.
Also by Jack Harris
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 92 articles by Jack Harris →

Topics

Dodgers National League West Padres the Atlanta Braves’ the San Diego Padres

Subjects

Dodgers ORG · 6× Padres ORG · 2× Astros ORG · 1× Cubs ORG · 1× National League West ORG · 1× Rangers ORG · 1× the Atlanta Braves’ ORG · 1× the Cincinnati Reds ORG · 1× the Red Sox ORG · 1× the San Diego Padres ORG · 1×

Narrative

After a four-run rally in the bottom of the second on Tuesday, the Dodgers’ once-resurgent lineup scored just six more times over its next 25 innings –– even with Shohei Ohtani returning from the injured list on Wednesday, and recording a multi-hit effort Thursday that included a consolation RBI double in the ninth.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 The Dodgers, of course, will downplay the significance of this week’s results.

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

Entering this week, the Dodgers seemed to be rolling toward the postseason. asserted
Dodgers → enter → postseason
They had won 14 of 17 games. asserted
They → win → games
They had clinched the National League West division crown. asserted
They → clinch → crown
They separated themselves for a top-two NL seed. asserted
They → separate → seed
And they had finally gotten the entirety of their roster –– from a previously slumping offense to a once-scuffling bullpen to a star-studded rotation –– synced up and playing well at the same time. asserted
entirety → get → time
The team had gotten an exceedingly soft late-season schedule, having not faced a fellow contender in almost a month. asserted
team → get → month
Thus, this week’s visit of the San Diego Padres felt like something of a pre-October test, if not a preview of a potential postseason matchup. asserted
visit → feel → matchup
And with a 4-2 rubber-match loss on Thursday night at Chavez Ravine, it was one they concerningly failed in their last true tune-up before the playoffs. asserted
they → fail → playoffs
The Dodgers, of course, will downplay the significance of this week’s results. asserted
Dodgers → downplay → results
They won 7-0 with a bullpen game on Tuesday night. asserted
They → win → night
They felt Wednesday’s 5-1 defeat was closer than the final score reflected. asserted
score → feel → ?
In the big-picture, Thursday’s setback didn’t hurt them either –– especially after they clinched a first-round playoff bye pregame thanks to the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds. asserted
they → hurt → Reds
There was also a matter of motivation, with the Padres clinching their own postseason spot by winning each of the last two games. asserted
Padres → be → games
Nevertheless, dropping this series continued an increasingly troublesome trend for the two-time defending champions. asserted
dropping → drop → champions
On the season, the Dodgers are just 25-28 against above-.500 teams currently on track to make the playoffs this year (excluding the sub-.500 Astros and Rangers, who are currently tied atop the AL West). asserted
who → make → West
In the last two months, that mark includes an eye-popping 2-14 rut in such matchups. asserted
mark → include → matchups
And still, no outcome felt more foreboding than this one. asserted
outcome → feel → one
After a four-run rally in the bottom of the second on Tuesday, the Dodgers’ once-resurgent lineup scored just six more times over its next 25 innings –– even with Shohei Ohtani returning from the injured list on Wednesday, and recording a multi-hit effort Thursday that included a consolation RBI double in the ninth. asserted
that → score → ninth
Though they manufactured plenty of traffic and prevented each of San Diego’s starters from completing even five innings, they wasted countless opportunities by going 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position. asserted
they → manufacture → position
It didn’t matter that the team got a pair of quality, though hardly dominant, starts out of Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday (six innings, two earned runs –– albeit with two more unearned) and Tyler Glasnow on Thursday (6.1 innings, three earned runs –– the last of which scored after he left the game). asserted
he → matter → game
Or that their own bullpen was, by and large, excellent; only done in during a three-run seventh-inning rally from the Padres on Thursday that was aided by some shoddy Dodgers defense (another area where the team suddenly regressed against a higher level of opponent). asserted
team → do → opponent
Instead, their red-hot offense reverted back to its mediocre mid-summer form. asserted
offense → revert → form
And now, after several weeks of increasingly auspicious form, the Dodgers have renewed questions to answer about their inability to beat other playoff-bound teams. asserted
Dodgers → renew → teams
If it doesn’t change soon, it could portend an unexpectedly short October. uncertain
it → change → October
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