The Padres are trying to block an acquisition of the Petco Park Dodgers.
Tickets for Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS in San Diego were limited to individuals' specific geographic areas, specifically excluding five counties in the greater Los Angeles area.
Petco Park and Dodger Stadium are approximately 195 miles apart in Southern California, requiring fans of both teams to travel approximately two hours to attend a road game.
“Petco Park is located in San Diego. Sales for this event are limited to residents of San Diego County, southern Orange County, western Arizona, Las Vegas and surrounding areas, and all of Baja California. Credit card billing based on your destination address,” the message says for those trying to purchase tickets through the team site, which will redirect them to ticketmaster.com. “Orders placed by residents outside of San Diego County, southern Orange County, western Arizona, Las Vegas and surrounding areas, and all of Baja California will be canceled without notice and refunded.”
This is the second time in the last three years that the Padres have taken such action, having previously done so in 2022 when the two teams met in the National League. According to the San Diego Union Tribune.
The Padres won that series in four games, including both games at Petco Park.
Dodgers fans are known for their love of travel, and they made an impression at Yankee Stadium during a trifecta in the Bronx earlier this year.
There are currently no tickets available through Ticketmaster, and the Union-Tribune noted that fewer than 1,000 tickets are available for public consumption.
The Padres will be hoping for home-field advantage as the series moves to San Diego on Tuesday for Game 3, followed by a possible No. 5 Game 4 on Thursday.
Getting fans into the park hasn't been a problem for this year's team. Padres set season attendance record More than 3.3 million fans frequent the stadium.
San Diego then hosted record crowds in each of its two Wild Card Series wins against the Braves, setting new records with 47,647 on Tuesday and 47,705 on Wednesday.
“I just love pitching in front of those guys,” former Yankees forward Michael King said after the Game 1 win, according to the Union-Tribune. “I'm really happy to have the home ground of the wild card, because I think it's a tough place to play against.''
The Padres are hoping for a similar result to two years ago, but they may have to do so without starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, who left Wednesday's win with right elbow tightness. San Diego won 8-5 against the Dodgers in the regular season.
Dylan Schiess will face Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1, and Yu Darvish will face Jack Flaherty in Game 2 before the series moves to San Diego.
