Dodgers explode for nine in the 7th in blowout of Nationals

WASHINGTON, DC — How to beat Max Scherzer in three easy steps. Step One: Wait until Max Scherzer exits the game. Step Two: Score nine runs immediately after he leaves. Step Three: Hold on for dear life to finish the game. You see? Easy Peasy! The Dodgers followed these simple steps and game away with a victory over Scherzer in the Nats on Friday night. The final score ended up being a bit of a laugher: 10-4 for the Dodgers’ seventh consecutive victory.

Unearned runs hurt Dodgers early

In this four-game series against the Nationals, Julio Urias drew the short straw and had to face the Nats’ ace, three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. And for the first six innings, it was quite a pitchers duel. However, Julio Urias was undone by some poor defense in the bottom of the second when the Nats managed to push three runs across.

With no one out and runners on second and third, Victor Robles hit a ground ball to third base. Justin Turner threw to first, but short-hopped Albert Pujols. The ball skittered into the outfield, allowing a second run to score and letting Robles scamper all the way to third. The next Nats’ hitter, Humberto Arteaga, hit a sac fly to Cody Bellinger in center, and suddenly the Dodgers were in a 0-3 hole.

Turner gets Dodgers on the board

Though Scherzer was his usual Scherzer self through much of the ball game, the Dodgers were able to break through with a run in the visitors’ half of the fourth inning. Leadoff hitter Justin Turner took a slider for a strike. Down 0-1, Turner got a pitch much more to his liking. He got a center-cut fastball from the Nats’ ace and mashed it hard to center. It cleared the fence and landed two rows deep in the stands for a solo home run. The Dodgers had cut the Nats’ lead to 3-1.

And there it stayed for a while. The next two innings were scoreless on both sides, with neither pitcher challenged much. However, since Scherzer was at 100 pitches, he was lifted for a reliever in the top of the seventh. And that’s when things went bad for the Nats. Very, very, bad.

Dodgers plate nine off the Nats’ pen

Chris Taylor greeted pitcher Sam Clay with a double. Then, after pinch hitter AJ Pollock lined out, Taylor tagged up and took third. He then scored on an RBI single from who else, the Machine Albert Pujols, still collecting ribeyes at 41 years young. That opened the floodgates. The big blasts in the nine-run outburst: three two-run singles from Betts, Muncy and Taylor, and then a two-run home run from AJ Pollock in his second at-bat of the inning. It was a track meet. The Dodgers sent twelve hitters to the plate in all, getting seven hits along the way.

Errors lead to two late runs for Nats

Now with a 10-3 lead, the Dodgers were able to survive some shoddy defense in the later innings. They gave up unearned runs in both the eighth and ninth and the Nats were able to close to a 10-5 final score. In all the Dodgers had four errors on the night, and gave up four unearned runs. So that part was less than fantastic. Luckily the offense had piled up so many runs in the seventh that the errors didn’t matter. Jimmy Nelson, Garrett Cleavinger, and Brusdar Graterol pitched the final three innings for the Dodgers. For the Bazooka, it was his first inning of work since April 26. He gave up one hit and an unearned run, but pitched well and was on the mound for the game’s final out.

Next man up: Kershaw

Assured of at least a series split, the Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound on Saturday against righty Paolo Espino. It’s another Fox TV broadcast, and will start at 4;15 pm. They wrap up the series on Sunday at with sunrise service at 8:00 am. Trevor Bauer, originally scheduled to pitch in the series finale, was put on administrative leave by MLB while the accusations against him are investigated. Dave Roberts will have to cobble something together on Sunday. Perhaps a David Price start. We shall see.