LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers began this weekend in second place, a position they had not been in this late in the season in four years.
After a statement sweep, they ended it sitting alone atop the NL West once more.
Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead homer after the Padres had clawed their way back to a tie in the eighth inning, and Alex Vesia closed out the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles has a two-game lead in the division, in addition to having clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over San Diego.
The Dodgers have won three straight games for the first time in six weeks.
After hanging four runs on Padres starter Yu Darvish in the first inning on Freddie Freeman’s three-run homer and Andy Pages’ solo drive, the Dodgers’ offense went dormant in the middle innings. Tyler Glasnow gave up a pair of runs across five innings, and a leaky bullpen conceded the tying run in the eighth.
But Betts, who has shown encouraging signs lately amid a down season at the plate, put his team on his back with one big swing, taking the Padres’ Robert Suárez deep just after the Dodgers’ lead had been erased.
