It has been a week of high stakes and higher emotions. The Padres surged past the Dodgers with back-to-back wins, capped by Nestor Cortes’ dominant performance in a 5-1 victory that pushed the Padres into first place. For the Dodgers fans, frustration is brewing—specifically, after dropping four of their last six games. However, inside the team, one of the Dodgers’ vital stars is not buying into the growing buzz related to this being baseball’s next great rivalry.

That star is Will Smith and he made his stance clear during a chat with Mookie Betts on the On Base With Mookie Bets podcast. When asked whether Dodgers-Padres had overtaken Yankees-Red Sox as the sport’s biggest rivalry, Will Smith said: “I don’t know, man. I’m kind of off base on that. I think we’ve had five years now of some really good baseball games, really good series, postseason matchups and stuff, but the Red Sox-Yankees is 100 years old, like that’s the rivalry in baseball just from a historical standpoint.” Smith’s statement serves as a reality check amid the hype—and highlights the difference between current excitement and decades of history.

Will Smith’s point carries weight when you consider the data. The star’s own performance against the Padres this season? Underwhelming. Smith is batting just .160 in the last eight games versus the Padres, with only four hits and two home runs, while the Dodgers have slipped from NL West leaders to second place for the first time since April. Such a context frames Smith’s reviews distinctively—it is not just dismissiveness; it is a thought process. Success against a team is one thing, however, sustained dominance over decades? That is another story entirely.

Mookie Betts echoed that sentiment in the same interview, providing insight from his time in the Red Sox: “Playing with the Red Sox, going into that rivalry, it is not just about baseball. I feel like, here it is mostly just about baseball, like who has the best team… but with the Yankees and Red Sox, it’s like baseball, but it’s about the cities, whose city is better, who can get louder… it runs much deeper and so long with the history.” The mention of the Red Sox’s century-old feud with the New York Yankees—with its “Curse of the Bambino” sold fans and city pride—is not just nostalgia; it is a reminder that true rivalries are forged over generations, not just a handful of playoff series.

So where does this leave Dodgers-Padres? On the rise, certainly, however, not yet iconic. Smith’s remarks do not diminish what is brewing in the NL West—they frame it. The Padres’ current dominance, capped by Cortes shutting down the Dodgers and a division lead reclaimed, highlights that there is real fuel here. However, until time provides it depth, it is a rivalry-in-the-making, not a replacement for legends. For now, the Dodgers’ catcher looks content to keep it in perspective.

While Will Smith’s reviews shed light on the Dodgers’ thought process related to the rivalry with the Padres, they also open the door to a larger interaction—the issues currently plaguing the Dodgers at the plate and how those issues could be affecting perception and reality.

Dodgers’ Offensive Struggles Take Center Stage

The Dodgers could still boast elite season-long stats, however, beneath those glossy data lies a troubling trend. Since early July, the team’s offense has sputtered, ranking 24th in runs scored and 26th in batting average—a sharp decline for the team built on consistent production.

Recent games with the Padres laid this bare, as the Dodgers managed just one run in consecutive contests, with pitchers like Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes dominating them. Cortes, in specific, enabled only one baserunner in six innings—the star’s best career outing. For a lineup this talented, that is more than just an off night; it is a warning sign as October comes quickly.

The frustration is not lost on the team. Miguel Rojas highlighted the team’s overly aggressive, power-first approach: “A lot of swings we took weren’t good swings to get on base… it wasn’t a good night for us,” the star said, calling for more situational awareness. Will Smith echoed the sentiment, highlighting that the team’s inability to capitalize early: “We needed to jump on him and put some runs up early, and just didn’t do that.”

Dave Roberts challenged the stars to “fight and adjust,” urging them to move away from a big-swing mentality and toward establishing offense however possible. As Roberts said: “It might look ugly, but… it’s just about getting the job done and finding a way to find some production”.

This is a pivotal moment for the Dodgers. Their stars know the clock is ticking. The concern is whether the team can rediscover that edge in time—not just to reignite a rivalry, however, to stay in contention for a deep postseason run.