Dodger Stadium- Los Angeles

Looking to avoid falling behind 3-0 in the series, the Padres lost to the Dodgers in come-from-behind fashion for the third straight night. San Diego was able to mount a comeback, but it went to no avail, as Will Smith came off the bench to blast a walk-off home run. The loss moved San Diego to 2-7 in their last nine games, five of the losses coming against L.A.

Five days after facing a formidable, lefty-heavy Diamondbacks lineup, Kolek faced an even tougher challenge in L.A. Meanwhile, right-hander Emmett Sheehan made his season debut on the mound to begin the contest. For the Dodgers, Sheehan was the first true starting pitcher utilized in the series, as the previous two “starters” combined for just three innings.

In the lineups, a pair of centerfielders made their first start of the series, in San Diego’s Bryce Johnson, and Los Angeles’s Hyeseong Kim. The Dodgers’ rookie catcher Dalton Rushing also made his first appearance, and Trenton Brooks slotted into the Padres’ DH spot.

For the third straight game, San Diego jumped out a 1-0 lead early. Although Sheehan retired the top of the order, he surrendered a leadoff double in the second to Jake Cronenworth. From there, Elias Diaz came up clutch with two outs and ricocheted a single off Tommy Edman at second.

The @Padres draw first blood off the bat of Elias Díaz!

? #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/edcmhXtImN

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 19, 2025

Stephen Kolek worked efficiently through his first three frames, recording a pair of strikeouts and allowing just one hit. Although the velocity was down, his trio of fastballs induced several frustrating field outs. Shohei Ohtani came within around ten feet of homering twice, but ultimately provided two quick outs to Kolek.

After Freddie Freeman singled with one away in the fourth, Kolek induced a much-needed double play from Teoscar Hernández. At just 47 pitches, Kolek put himself in a prime position to post the first quality start of the series for San Diego.

Though on a pitch limit, Sheehan made the most of his outing by retiring the last seven hitters he faced. Justin Wrobleseki came on to take on the bulk of the remaining innings. With Matt Sauer optioned to Triple-A and several integral heavily worked relievers down for the game, Wrobleski’s effectiveness was crucial to holding down San Diego’s offense.

In a matchup that seems to always feature huge momentum swings, the Dodgers got theirs in the bottom of the fifth. In the span of just two pitches, Max Muncy tripled off the glove of a leaping Fernando Tatis Jr. in right, and Andy Pages brought him in on a sacrifice fly. Then, Edman connected a single, and Kim snuck a rulebook double into the right field corner. With the nine hitter Rushing up, and only one out, the worry was centered around facing the guy on deck. Instead, Rushing took matters into his own hands and lined a two-run single. A few pitches later, Ohtani grounded into an inning-ending double play, the second of which Kolek induced on his night.

A strikeout of Elias Diaz in the eighth inning finalized a streak of 18 straight Padres hitters retired in a row. Tasked with giving manager Dave Roberts length, Wrobleski did just that. He was able to throw four scoreless innings and earn a chance at closing out the game in the ninth.

Kolek’s night came to a close at 97 pitches, as he walked and hit the first two batters he faced in the seventh. His final line was six and a third innings, allowing three hits, a walk, and three runs. Despite recording just four whiffs, Kolek secured three strikeouts on the night.

A huge at-bat in the game came after Wandy Peralta issued a bases-loaded walk to Rushing. Ohtani came up with a chance to essentially ice the game with a hit and drew the count full. Peralta, however, came back with a painted sinker that Ohtani swung through to keep the Friars in striking distance.

San Diego didn’t go quietly in the ninth inning. Luis Arraez led off the inning by lining a single over shortstop. With Manny Machado shooting a grounder to third, it looked like a twin killer and a rally killer. Instead, Muncy and Edman could not connect on the throw, allowing everyone to be safe. Gavin Sheets quickly made things real, as he singled to left on an 0-2 count, setting the table for Cronenworth and Bogaerts. Cronenworth put the ball in play, hitting a productive sacrifice fly to cut the lead in half. Bogaerts, who was hitless in his last 10 at-bats, came up with San Diego’s biggest hit of the series. The struggling veteran found the gap in left-center, plating the game-tying run in the ninth.

XANDER BOGAERTS TIES IT UP!

? #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/BKD0JwmRzS

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 19, 2025

On the next pitch, Jose Iglesias hit a soft grounder to Freddie Freeman, who threw home and nabbed Brandon Lockridge at the plate. Elias Diaz also swung first pitch and grounded out, sending the frame to the bottom half, tied at 3. Robert Suarez came in to try and extend the game, and was slated to face the 7,8, and 9 hitters.

Suarez induced a popout from Edman, and Will Smith— who had the day off— came up in place of Kike Hernández. On the second pitch of the at-bat, he launched a ball to left that tailed just foul. Before anyone could catch their breath, he sent a changeup deep to right-center. Tatis Jr. had a shot at robbery, but the ball flew just over his glove, and unfortunately, over the wall.

WILL SMITH WALKS IT OFF ?

The @Dodgers win an #MLBNShowcase thriller! pic.twitter.com/wAXYbQMNfG

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 19, 2025

Following the heartbreaker, Mike Shildt credited Smith on his homer off of Suarez. “He put a good swing on a tough pitch”, Shildt said, “Clearly hurt.”

When asked if Lockridge could have scored the go-ahead run on Bogaerts’ double, Shildt defended third base coach Tim Leaper’s decision.  Shildt listed that “it’s not a big park, you know, and Pages has a good arm.” He also added that “it looked like he got over there pretty good.”

San Diego will attempt to avoid a four-game sweep by the Dodgers tomorrow. Unfortunately, the pitching odds won’t be on their side, as Ryan Bergert will face Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The first pitch will once again commence at 7:10 p.m.

Willy Warren

A 17-year-old San Diego native, Willy Warren is a baseball fan at heart who created High Leverage Baseball, a combination of around-the-league statistical analysis and breakdowns on X, and daily newsletters on the TikTok platform. Willy passionately studies Journalism at San Dieguito Academy, and is working to become billingual in Spanish to assist in communicating with Latin-born players and coaches.