San Diego Padres vs LA Dodgers at Petco Park — May Series

The Dodgers come to Petco Park on May 18 and the city of San Diego responds accordingly. There is no series on the Padres home calendar more anticipated, more contested, or more capable of generating the kind of atmosphere that makes you grateful you showed up than the Padres vs Dodgers — the rivalry that defines National League West baseball and has been doing so for three decades. The Dodgers travel with one of the largest away contingents in baseball, and Petco Park absorbs their presence with the particular energy of a home crowd that has spent the whole year preparing to outsell the visitors on noise. This is the rivalry with the most history, the most intensity, and the most consequence — and in May, with both clubs jockeying for the top of the NL West, every inning matters at a level that regular-season baseball often cannot replicate.