San Diego Padres star Xander Bogaerts praised the Los Angeles Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts for their bullpen strategy during their series win.

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The Dodgers' left fielder, who homered in the Dodgers' 5-2 victory Wednesday at Petco Park, praised the sold-out crowd of 45,481 following the series finale.

A long-simmering National League West rivalry is renewed Friday night in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants open a three-game series with the top spot in the division on the line.

Teoscar Hernández broke a sixth-inning tie with a three-run homer and Michael Conforto also went deep for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 to take two of three games in the first series this season between the NL West rivals.

The Padres are 38-29 and third in the NL West, two games back of the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers and one game behind the San Francisco Giants. They just lost two of three agains the Dodgers at home, including dropping the series opener, 8-7, in extra innings.