The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Patrick Corbin could get an out, but Noah Syndergaard struggled to keep the Washington Nationals in the ballpark en route to a 10-6 loss. The Dodgers fell short of completing a series sweep and had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Mookie Betts opened the scoring with the 40th career leadoff home run, of which 20 have come with the Dodgers and four this season. Overall, Betts has 12 home runs this year.
After Freddie Freeman lined the first pitch he saw into left field for a single that extended his hitting streak to 20 games, Will Smith followed with a two-run home run.
The Nationals quickly cut into the Dodgers’ lead, with Keibert Ruiz and CJ Abrams combining for back-to-back solo home runs with two outs in the second inning.
The Nationals mounted another two-out rally in the third, which culminated with Jeimer Candelario’s RBI single tying the game.
Like in the first two games of the series, the Nationals’ defense suffered a lapse that led to trouble. An error allowed Freeman to reach safely to lead off the bottom of the third inning, which was followed by a single from Smith and J.D. Martinez walking to load the bases.
Corbin then didn’t do himself any favors by walking Max Muncy on four pitches.
Syndergaard failed to protect his second lead of the day as he surrendered a two-run homer to Candelario in the fifth inning. Wednesday marked the fourth time Syndergaard allowed at least five earned runs in a start this season.
Dodgers bullpen woes
For all of Syndergaard’s struggles, the Dodgers managed to pull even in the bottom of the seventh, only for Brusdar Graterol to surrender a three-run homer to Luis García in the eighth inning.
García’s game-winning blast capped off a stretch of self-inflicted trouble by Graterol. He hit Ruiz to start the inning and then attempted to get an out at second base after a comebacker went off his glove. Graterol struck out the next two batters and was one strike away from escaping the inning when García hit the homer.
Ruiz added a two-run homer off Phil Bickford in the ninth, one inning after Betts slugged his second solo shot of the game. The Nationals’ five home runs broke their previous season high of two.
While their pitching struggled, the Dodgers were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. The Dodgers did excel at stolen bases, going 6-for-6. The Dodgers’ six stolen bases were their most since June 3, 2017
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