San Diego, California - The Los Angeles Dodgers are still one of the hottest teams in MLB, getting a hard-fought series sweep on the road over the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers shut out the Padres 4-0 on Thursday night to keep their division rivals at a distance.

As playoff-bound teams start to separate themselves from the lesser ones, the Dodgers continue to defend their World Series title heading into the fall.

Veteran ace Max Scherzer (37), who came to LA in a trade last month, was on the mound for the Dodgers, throwing the baseball as expected and striking out 10 batters over 7 ⅔ innings for no earned runs. He earned the win and increased his current season record to 12-4.

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The three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn’t lost a starting game in almost three months, long before the opportunity to leave the Nationals ever presented itself.

The Dodgers also got their superstar outfielder Mookie Betts back after being out for the last 16 games with right hip issues, but he went 0-for-3 on Thursday.

Catcher Austin Barnes stepped up instead, helping out with a two-run homer in the third inning to get LA on the board.

Trae Turner then scored off a double from Corey Seager to right field, adding to the Dodgers’ lead.

The Dodgers got in one more run as AJ Pollock scored off of a sacrifice fly from Cody Bellinger in the fourth. It gave Scherzer a little more insurance to help shut San Diego down.

Padres ace Yu Darvish only lasted six innings and allowed all of LA’s runs, while his hitters could only pile up three hits – one each by All-Star Manny Machado, Trent Grisham, and Victor Caratini.

The Dodgers head back home on Friday for a three-game set against the Rockies, while the Padres also head to LA for two games against the Angels.