PHOENIX — When it comes to Valley sports and the playoffs, there always seems to be something standing in the way: a, team from Los Angeles – especially in recent years.
When the Suns made their run to the 2021 NBA Finals, it was both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. And again this past season, the Suns beat the Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
In January 2022, the Cardinals took on the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs but lost.
And for the Diamondbacks in 2023, it will be their National League West division rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
These are two teams that know each other extremely well, as Saturday's Game 1 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) will be the 456th meeting between the franchises. The first, a 9-1 Dodger victory, was on April 7, 1998. The latest, a 7-0 Dodger victory, was just more than a month ago, on August 30.
The Dodgers lead the all-time series between these two clubs, 259-193 in the regular season, and 3-0 in the playoffs (the Dodgers swept the D-backs in the NLDS in 2017, Arizona's last playoff appearance before this year).
And during that time, there have been many memorable moments between the D-backs and Dodgers, even though the rivalry didn't really heat up until 2011.
September 2011: The rivalry is sparked
The first majorly tense moments between Arizona and Los Angeles came on Sept. 13 and 14, 2011. It started the first night at Dodger Stadium when Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo threw a pitch that almost hit D-backs outfielder Gerardo Parra in the head. Parra responded by hitting a home run and admiring it as it flew over the Chavez Ravine fence.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and catcher AJ Ellis had words for Parra as he rounded the bases and words were exchanged between the dugouts.
The next night, Kershaw was pitching and hit Parra with a pitch in the sixth inning. Kershaw and manager Don Mattingly were ejected from the game after that as the umpires viewed it as retaliation for what happened the night before.
Cooler heads prevailed until the next May. During Kershaw's first start against Arizona since the ejection, D-backs pitcher Ian Kennedy threw a pitch behind Kershaw. Later in that game, Kershaw made Kennedy duck out of the batter's box after throwing a fastball in Kennedy's direction.
That night, Kershaw gave his take on those pitches, saying, "Old-school baseball's one thing, and I understand what the manager's trying to instill over there, but there's no place for that here. It's obvious what they were trying to do, but I don't agree with what they did. It just felt wrong. He's a good pitcher, he had an awesome year last year and I have a lot of respect for what he does on the hill. But if that's how they want to do it, that's fine. He missed anyway, so no big deal."
However, the rivalry did not escalate any further than just words for more than a year until the defining moment of this rivalry took place.
On June 11, 2013, tensions boiled over at Dodger Stadium.
It started in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kennedy hit Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig in the face with a 92-mile-per-hour fastball. In the top of the seventh, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke retaliated by plunking Miguel Montero in the back, leading to the benches clearing. Words were exchanged, no punches were thrown, and the teams went back to their respective dugouts.
And then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kennedy hit Greinke in the head. Kennedy was immediately ejected and a brawl ensured. After it cleared, there were a total of six ejections, eight suspensions, and a dozen fines.
And to top it all off, at the end of the 2013 season, in perhaps the most notorious moment of this rivalry, on September 19, the Dodgers celebrated winning the N.L. West division by jumping into the pool at Chase Field.
Since then, the biggest moment in this rivalry has been J.D. Martinez hitting four home runs at Dodger Stadium in 2017. This is mainly due to the Dodgers dominating the rivalry, 113-62 since 2014 (plus the 2017 NLDS three-game sweep).
Shared history
There have also been a total of 72 players that have suited up for both the D-backs and Dodgers over the years, according to Baseball Reference.
Some of the most notable include Luis Gonzalez, Craig Counsell, Max Scherzer, Dan Haren, Greinke, Martinez, and David Peralta. You can check out more in the photo gallery below.
The 'Dodger-backs': All the notable players who have played for the Diamondbacks and Dodgers
The next chapter in this rivalry will begin Saturday at 6:20 p.m. when the D-backs take on the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. You will be able to watch that game on TBS.
