Steve Webb
WASHINGTON, DC — On a day after everything seemed to go wrong for the Dodgers in the final inning, just about everything went right for the Boys in Blue as they opened up the middle leg of their road trip in Washington. Against the hapless Nationals, the team got a nearly perfect start from Tyler Anderson, timely hitting from the offense and a little help from a leaky Nats defense to post an easy 10-1 on Monday night.
Anderson brilliant in efficient start
The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for a better start than the one they got from Tyler Anderson in this one. With his change-up working like a charm, he had the Nats hitters off balance all night, and in fact had a little perfecto going through the first 5.1 innings. He gave up a total of five hits after that, but the Nats couldn’t lay a glove on him. Anderson went eight scoreless innings, going deeper than any other Dodger starter save Walker Buehler in his complete game win in Arizona. He was simply brilliant.
Offense bashes big-time
Meanwhile, the offense put the big hurt on the Nationals’ pitchers, most specifically starter Joan Adon. They collected a dozen hits on the night, hitting 7-for-12 with runners in scoring position, racking up 10 runs along the way. Big nights up and down the lineup, but especially for Freddie Freeman (3-for-5, 2 RBI), Mookie Betts (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Gavin Lux (2-for-4, 3 runs scored). Trea Turner, in his return to his old home ballpark, went 1-for-4, but drove in a team-leading three runs on the night. The Dodgers scored runs in five different innings, but it was the three-spot in the top of the fourth that gave them a comfortable lead, aided especially by some suspect defense from the Nats outfielders, one Juan Soto in particular.
The Dodgers added another three runs in the sixth and the rout was on. The top of the lineup was really punishing the ball in this one, and handed the Nationals one of their most humiliating defeats of the season (and that is saying something this year). It was a great palette cleanser after the bad taste that the Muncy error left in everyone’s mouth in Philly.
Buehler vs. Gray on Tuesday
Tuesday’s matchup will pit Walker Buehler against one piece of the the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner deal, starter Josiah Gray. Gray is off to a decent start this year for the Nats, but probably is still pitching a little bit before he’s big-league ready. We’ll see how much he remembers about these Dodger hitters tomorrow. Game time will be 4:00 pm once again.
Cans of Corn…
- After the Dodgers arrived in DC last night, Justin Turner took everybody out to see Top Gun: Maverick. Perhaps the adrenaline rush of the movie carried over into Monday’s game.
- Blake Treinen, still on the IL and still not pitching, came to agreement with the team on a one-year extension that will make him a Dodger through 2023. Hopefully, the team can get some use out of his arm after the All-Star break.
- The Nats did a nice video tribute to Trea Turner before the game and he got a nice round of applause from the Washington fans.
- The fact that the Nationals are so horrible after winning the World Series just three years ago underscores the remarkable run the Dodgers are on. Unmatched in modern baseball, except perhaps by the Braves of the 90s.
