Robert Suarez gave up a game-winning, pinch-hit home run to Will Smith hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving the LA Dodgers a 4-3 win over the Padres, their 3rd in a row to start this 4-game series.

Xander Bogaerts’ RBI double in the left-center field gap after Jake Cronenworth’s sacrifice fly had just tie Ls the game in the top of the 9th for the Padres, who loaded the bases with no outs after managing just 1 run up to that point. They still had pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge on 3rd base with 1 out, but he was thrown out at the plate on Jose Iglesias’ grounder to 1st baseman Freddie Freeman.

The win is the Dodgers’ 5th in 6 games over the Padres this season. The 3rd-place Pads are now 6 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West.

Smith went 5-8 in the series, including a 2-run homer to snap a scoreless tie in the 6th inning of game 2 last night.

Smith smashed a changeup from Suarez (1-3) deep into the LA night for the Dodgers’ 25th comeback win of the season.

The bad blood between these 2 teams in this series reared its ugly head again tonight, as Pads’ starter Stephen Kolek hit Andy Pages in the 7th. Pages was plunked by Padres starter Dylan Cease on Monday. 4 players were hit by pitches in the first 2 games of the series and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was ejected last night.

Dodgers starter Emmett Sheehan allowed one run over 4 innings of his 1st major league start in 1 1/2 years after having Tommy John surgery in May of last year.

The Dodgers got their offense from the bottom of the lineup, including a 2-run single from rookie Dalton Rushing in the 5th.

The Dodgers' top 4 hitters — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández — were a combined 1 for 16.

Ohtani struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh, extending his hitless skid to 0 for 8 since making his Dodgers pitching debut on Monday.

***** ‘LIVE’ Instant Reaction from Jim “GRIES” Grieshaber

-----

The Padres and Dodgers play the 4th and last game of this series tomorrow, with 1st pitch set for 7:10pm PT.

Padres RHP Ryan Bergert (1-0, 2.33 ERA) will start  against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. (6-5, 2.64 ERA)

Your PADRES POSTCAST- hosted by Jim GIES" Grieshaber- comes your way LIVE' right after the game.

-----

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Trade Coffee _ Right now, Trade is exclusively offering our customer 50% off your one-month trial at drinktrade.com/LOCKEDONMLB.

OpenPhone - Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonmlb

Wonderful Pistachios - Get snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more!

Supply House - Join the TradeMaster program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code S-H-5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!

Monarch Money - Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.

GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel - Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)