Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — There were a lot of home runs on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately, the Nats got two of theirs with guys on base. And therein lies the difference in the 10-6 score.
It looked like it was going to be an easy day at the ballpark. After Noah Syndergaard pitched a scoreless top of the first, the Dodgers came out of the dugout with guns blazing. Mookie Betts smacked a leadoff homer. Freddie Freeman singled. And then Will Smith hit a dinger of his own. And before the fans had even settled in with their first round of nachos, it was a 3-0 Dodger lead.
However, it was much too early to start celebrating. After all, it was a Noah Syndergaard start. And unfortunately, Syndergaard was who we expected him to be. Not horrible, but in the end ineffective. Thor gave up three homers on his own, and let the Nats take the lead by the end of his outing. In all, he gave up five runs over five innings of work. His season ERA is now up to 6.54.
“It really sucks,” Syndergaard said after the game. “Right now I just feel like I’m the weakest link on this team. I want to go out there and compete and be successful for the other guys in this clubhouse, but it’s just not working out.”
Even so, the Dodgers had ample opportunity to get back in this game. They squandered a bases-loaded, nobody-out opportunity in the bottom of the 3rd. But still, the game was tied at 5-5 going into the 8th inning. But on this day, it was a bad start and a bad bullpen day. Brusdar Graterol gave up a three-run bomb in the 8th, and Phil Bickford surrendered a two-run shot in the 9th, and just like that, a tight game turned into a fairly easy Nationals victory.
Mookie Betts got a second solo shot in the bottom of the 8th, but it was too little too late. In the end, you just can’t let the other team go yard five times on you and expect to win. Keep the ball inside the ballpark, boys.
Things got even more interesting later in the day with the D-backs win over the Rockies. The upstart Snakes are now just 0.5 games behind the mighty Dodgers.
Just as the mysterious gypsy woman foretold.
