Dodgers wear this win well

CHICAGO -- By belting a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 7-4 comeback victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday, Andre Ethier inadvertently opened a Pandora’s box of sorts.

Inside that box was a costume for every first- and second-year player to wear on their flight to San Francisco, Ethier’s a hot pink disco suit.

“We had them boxed up for a while,” said left fielder Luis Gonzalez, who said the outfits were purchased last weekend in San Diego.

If there was any day for the Dodgers to celebrate and laugh, it was this one, which started with All-Star catcher Russell Martin returning to the lineup from a sprained left knee and ended with Ethier’s three-run shot erasing a one-run deficit.

The victory was the Dodgers’ eighth in their last 11 games and third in their four-game series against the Cubs. They moved to within 3 1/2 games of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West and 2 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres in the wild-card race. Today, the Dodgers will start a three-game series at last-place San Francisco.

But to get to that point, the Dodgers had to endure a game with four lead changes, three of which were in the final three innings.

“When you get late in the game and the other team comes back, it’s tough to overcome that,” said Martin, who had to dress up as movie character “Nacho Libre.” “But we stayed in there, kept our composure and had a couple of good at-bats in the ninth inning. It’s huge, man. It’s a huge win.”

The Cubs’ comeback to which Martin referred was in the seventh, when Alfonso Soriano smashed a pitch by Jonathan Broxton for his second home run of the game, a three-run shot that put the Cubs ahead, 4-2.

But Matt Kemp hit a solo shot in the eighth -- his first homer on the road this season -- to set the stage for Ethier’s big swing. Kemp later wore the outfit that drew the most laughs in the clubhouse, a woman’s fat suit.

Ethier hit the ball to the opposite field and it barely cleared the ivy-covered wall, but Dodgers Manager Grady Little said he knew it had a chance.

“That flag kind of turned around there pretty good in the seventh and eighth innings,” Little said. “Any ball had a chance and that one made it.”

Ethier said he was cognizant of the wind.

“That kind of plays favorably into my swing,” he said.

But Ethier said he didn’t see the landing of what was probably the most important home run of his career, claiming he was running with his head down trying to get to second base.

The game was a pitchers’ duel for six innings, after which Derek Lowe of the Dodgers and Jason Marquis of the Cubs were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie.

Lowe started the game by serving up his seventh home run in his last four starts, a leadoff shot by Soriano.

Marquis was an out away from taking a perfect game into the sixth, only to give up a solo blast to James Loney. A double by Loney in the top of the seventh allowed Martin to score from first and put the Dodgers ahead, 2-1.

Little opted to let Lowe hit for himself in the seventh with two outs and two on.

“We thought he might’ve had a couple of more innings at that point,” Little said.

But Lowe flied out and let the first two hitters in the bottom of the inning reach base. Lowe was pulled and Broxton promptly gave up the three-run homer to Soriano.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com