The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals by a score of 2-1, earning the series sweep and some revenge after the Nationals won the series at Dodger Stadium earlier this month.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the mound and turned in a terrific start. The right-hander pitched six scoreless innings, giving up four hits while striking out seven and walking one.
It was his second consecutive start pitching six innings, and his third of going at least five innings without allowing a run. He finished his outing with 97 pitches, 70 of them for strikes, marking his most efficient game on the mound, but the Dodgers are still looking for him to take the next step and get deeper into the game.
The Nationals put runners in scoring position a few times against Yamamoto, but he was able to get out of it every time as they went 0-for-5 in those situations. They also put two runners on in Yamamoto’s final inning, but he was able to escape with a ground out.
The Dodgers first run came on a solo homer from Teoscar Hernández in the second inning against MacKenzie Gore, who turned in a strong start as well. The home run was Hernández’s sixth of the season, but first since April 12.
Gore threw six innings, giving up just the one run on seven hits while striking out four and walking two. Left-handers have continued to give the Dodgers troubles this season, and they also went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against him.
In the eighth, the Dodgers added some insurance when Mookie Betts walked and stole second base. Freddie Freeman then followed with a double to give L.A. their second run of the game.
Alex Vesia took over in the seventh and struck out three hitters he faced, but he did make an error trying to flip a weak grounder from his glove to first base to allow a runner to reach.
Daniel Hudson gave up the Nationals’ only run when he allowed a single to CJ Abrams in the eighth, and another single by Joey Meneses to drive him home.
Evan Phillips entered the ninth and struck out the first two hitters before recording a ground out to record his seventh save of the year.
What’s next for the Dodgers
The Dodgers now travel to Canada, where they will face the Toronto Blue Jays beginning on Friday, April 26.
Gavin Stone will face Chris Bassitt in the opener, but all eyes will be on Shohei Ohtani following the Blue Jays’ failed pursuit of the superstar.
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