The Padres beat the Dodgers 2-1 at Petco Park Friday to climb back into a tie for the lead in the National League West.

Runs by perennial All-Stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fourth inning were pivotal for San Diego, as was as a strong six-inning performance by starter Yu Darvish.

Darvish was shaky last weekend in a Sunday no-decision against the Dodgers, who swept the Padres in LA, ending the Friars’ brief stay in first place. Not Friday, though, as the veteran gave up just one hit.

After a scoreless first two innings, the knock came from Dodger Alex Freeland, who turns 24 on Sunday. The rookie also put the first run on the board, homering on a fly ball to right field.

The blast gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, but it was a special moment for Freeland, as it also was the first home run of his MLB career.

Machado, though, helped tie the score 1-1 in the fourth when he singled on a line drive to center that allowed Tatis Jr. to score from second base.

The Padres took the lead during the next at-bat when Xander Bogaerts hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Machado.

Those were the only two runs for San Diego, but they were enough as the Padres pitching corps managed to limit LA to three hits.

The execution 🤌 pic.twitter.com/wOCGICoXvH

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 23, 2025

Darvish also struck out five batters. Jason Adam then came in to pitch an inning before giving way for Mason Miller in the eighth.

The Padres then turned to closer Robert Suarez, who earned his 34th save in a dramatic ninth.

Though he retired Shohei Ohtani to open the inning, he gave up a single to Mookie Betts, then struck out Will Smith only to see Freddie Freeman single to send Betts to third. That brought up Teoscar Hernández, and Suarez immediately had him down 0-2, but Hernández worked the count back to 2-2.

The atmosphere in Friday night’s game was raucous, with the loud “Beat LA.” chant ringing through Petco as Suarez set up for the sixth pitch of the at-bat. He opted for a sinker, which sunk the Dodgers’ chances as Hernández struck out swinging.

Manager Mike Shildt said Darvish was “just in control of everything that he was doing … I just thought he was masterful” while throwing just 74 pitches. Yet he still shifted to Adam.

“Good defense, bullpen clearly brought it home … we played a very good baseball game tonight,” he said.

Blake Snell went seven innings for LA. Snell, who played for the Padres for three seasons before leaving as a free agent after the 2023 season, gave up six hits and two runs.

In two at-bats, Tatis Jr. had a run and two walks. Machado, in four at-bats, had a hit, a run and an RBI.

With the Padres’ win, they again share an identical 73-56 record with the Dodgers. Two games remain in the series and the teams’ battle for the NL West.

Left-hander Nestor Cortes is scheduled to face off against the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow at 5:40 p.m. Saturday. The Dodgers starter will be celebrating his 32nd birthday.

The three-game series concludes Sunday with starters Nick Pivetta and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It’s the last time the two teams are scheduled to play each other during the regular season.