After losing back-to-back games to the team with the worst record in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers pounced on Patrick Corbin en route to avoiding being swept by the Washington Nationals with a 7-1 win.
The victory gave the Dodgers some momentum heading into a seven-game road trip and a 5-2 record on their homestand after the All-Star break.
Corbin’s trouble began immediately as Mookie Betts narrowly missed hitting a leadoff home run for a second consecutive game. Corbin retired Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, but walked Will Smith despite getting to two strikes.
In his first game since last Thursday, Justin Turner provided the Dodgers with an early lead by pulling an RBI single into left field. Trayce Thompson then hit an RBI single as well, and Hanser Alberto contributed with a two-run double.
Six runs in the first. 😳 pic.twitter.com/dZuO8NXUVs
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 27, 2022
Austin Barnes kept the rally going with an RBI base hit and Gavin Lux benefitted from miscommunication between Victor Robles and Juan Soto, which resulted in his fly ball to the gap dropping for a two-run double.
The six runs the Dodgers scored were their most in the first inning this season.
Betts singled in his second at-bat of the inning, and it marked the end of the afternoon for Corbin. The four outs recorded represented Corbin’s shortest start of his career.
The Dodgers’ offense then went quiet until Lux’s sacrifice fly, but Andrew Heaney led a strong pitching effort to help maintain a comfortable lead. The Nationals didn’t score until Luis García’s RBI ground-rule double off Jake Reed in the seventh inning.
Dodgers road trip
Coming off a successful homestand, the Dodgers now begin a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies before facing the San Francisco Giants for four at Oracle Park.
The Rockies are 2-4 since the All-Star break, and the Dodgers are fresh off sweeping the Giants in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
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