Dodgers and Padres ready to exchange punches again

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dodgers were cruising through their abbreviated schedule in mid-September when they went to San Diego to start their final road trip of the regular season.
Invigorated by their GM’s shopping spree at the trade deadline, the Padres had closed to within 2 1/2 games of the Dodgers. It was only 1 1/2 games when the Padres beat the Dodgers 7-2 in the opener of the series.
It was more than a loss. It was “kind of a punch in the mouth,” Mookie Betts would