SAN DIEGO -- In nine highly anticipated games against their Southern California rivals this season, the Padres have made one thing abundantly clear: It’s not the same old Padres-Dodgers rivalry, the one often lopsided heavily in L.A.’s favor.

Lately, in fact, it’s been quite the opposite.

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After dropping their first two games against the Dodgers, the Padres have reeled off six wins in their last seven meetings -- including a tense 3-2 victory on Tuesday night before yet another sold-out crowd at Petco Park, San Diego’s sixth straight since opening to full capacity last week.

“The atmosphere is great,” said Padres left-hander Blake Snell, who worked five scoreless innings. “I love the energy. I love the rivalry. I love everything about it. … There’s a lot of meaning into these starts. And winning, in general, makes everything better.”

Snell wasn’t quite as dominant as he was the last time he pitched at Petco Park -- seven scoreless against the Mets earlier this month. But in a way, his effort on Tuesday night was every bit as impressive.

Snell walked three, and he allowed four hits. He showed flashes of dominance. He also labored at times, including a 27-pitch fourth inning in which he escaped a bases-loaded jam. In the fifth, with two down and two men aboard, manager Jayce Tingler emerged for a chat, but he opted to leave his starter in the game. Snell got Albert Pujols to chase a high fastball for an inning-ending strikeout.

“Just wanted to give him a breather,” Tingler said. “And he stepped up.”

Snell’s scoreless outing continued his trend of brilliant starts at Petco Park. Despite his 5.29 ERA overall, Snell’s 1.43 mark at home is the best mark among all Padres starters.

“I’m just comfortable,” said Snell. “I like the mound, I like the stadium, I like the 73 degrees perfect weather. There’s a lot of things I like. But it’s just the comfort, really.”

Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run homer for a second consecutive night, and Ha-Seong Kim added a pinch-hit blast against Clayton Kershaw in the fifth to account for all of San Diego’s offense.

A beleaguered Padres bullpen that did just enough, thanks in no small part to Manny Machado’s heads-up double play that knocked the wind out of the Dodgers’ eighth-inning rally.

Right-hander Nabil Crismatt worked two lights-out scoreless frames in relief of Snell, and in the surest sign that the Padres’ bullpen has been overworked lately, they asked him for a third. That didn't go quite as well. Crismatt loaded the bases with no one out in the eighth.

But Machado's brilliant glovework saved the day. Dodgers catcher Will Smith bounced a chopper toward third, and Machado tagged Justin Turner before throwing to second base for the force.

From there, the Padres turned to Mason Thompson -- quite a spot for the 23-year-old right-hander to make his big league debut. Thompson walked Max Muncy, but got A.J. Pollock to bounce to third base, ending the threat.

“You’re looking for a softer landing spot, and then you realize there’s just no soft landing spots,” Tingler said. “We had some guys down, and Crismatt gave us everything he had … and [Thompson] delivered tonight. What a pretty cool debut.”

The Dodgers clawed a run back in the ninth, but Wil Myers made a running catch in right field on Justin Turner’s sharp line drive, and the Padres held on. Petco Park erupted again, before settling into a series of “Beat L.A.” chants.

They’ve already done so twice this week. After the Padres won a laugher on Monday night, the rivalry returned to its natural state on Tuesday -- a nervy game that hung in the balance until the very last pitch.

“These are intense games, and they’re a lot of fun to be a part of on both ends,” Tingler said. “It’s an absolute blast.”

Spoken like the manager who’s been on the winning end of six of the last seven in the rivalry.