In all, 10 total batters were hit in those seven games, including eight in the just-concluded four-game set. Hostilities finally bubbled over when Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit on the right hand in the ninth inning of Thursday's series finale by a fastball from Dodgers rookie Jack Little:

Things got so heated that managers Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt had to be separated from each other. After Tatis got bopped in the top of the inning, the Padres got a bit of revenge in the bottom half,

The first inning on Sunday will feel at least as significant as the last one when the Los Angeles Dodgers and visiting Washington Nationals play the deciding contest of a three-game series.