Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — It seemed like order had been restored. After spotting the Washington Nationals a couple of runs, the Dodgers came roaring back in the fifth inning, sparked by a brilliant defensive play from Mookie Betts. They took a 3-2 and looked to be on their way to victory. That is, until Gavin Lux couldn’t make a throw on a fairly routine play in the top of the 8th inning. He pulled Freddie Freeman off the bag, and literally nothing went right for the Dodgers from that moment on. They dropped this game (and the series) to the hapless Nats by a score of 8-3. Ugh.
Nats bloop their way to an early lead
Mitch White got the start in this one, and if you just looked at the box score, it might seem like the Nationals were all over him early. In fact, he did give up three hits and two runs in the top of the first. However, it was a lot of weak contact. Bloop flies, infield groundballs to score a run. That kind of stuff. Nevertheless, the Nationals were able to cobble enough contact together to come up with 2-0 lead before the Dodgers hit the bat rack.
Betts leads off with a bang
Mookie Betts didn’t waste any time in atoning for a sub-par game on Monday night, when he struck out in a couple of key moments. In this one, he pounced all over ex-Dodger Josiah Gray and hit a big fly to center to lead off the ball game. The blast cut the deficit to 2-1,
However, Gray was having one of his better outings in this one. He kept the Dodgers hitters pretty quiet in the early going, and the game went into the top of the fifth with the Nats still clinging to their one-run lead.
Betts and Belli turn the tide
In fact, it seemed like the Nationals might score a third run in the top of the first when Josh Bell hit a two-out single into right field with speedy Victor Robles at second. As the ball neared Mookie Betts, Robles rounded third and barreled for home. Betts charged the ball and threw home in one fluid motion. STEEE-RIKE! It hit Will Smith on a hop and Smitty applied the tag on Robles a fraction of a second before his foot crossed home. The inning was over and the Dodgers were coming up.
Cody Bellinger was the beneficiary of this momentum shift, it seemed, as on the very next pitch of the bottom of the inning, Belli got a cookie that he liked. He walloped a majestic fly down the line that landed among the Dodger faithful for a game-tying home run.
Then, when Freddie Freeman drove home another run in the inning with a sacrifice fly, it seemed like the Nats had finally been put in their place. Plus, after the shaky start, Mitch White had actually come through and pitched a nice game, going six innings and giving up only those two early runs.
Bad baseball…
The lead stayed at 3-2 Dodgers for a couple of innings, and it seemed like victory was well within reach. Needing just six more outs to secure the win, Dave Roberts called on the just-activated Garrett Cleavinger to handle the eighth. And when leadoff man Josh Bell hit a slow grounder to Gavin Lux right behind second, it seemed like he was off to a good start.
However, Lux’s throw pulled Freeman off the bag, and by the time Freddie could corral the throw, Bell was past him and safe at first. For a hot minute, it looked like Cleavinger might be able to erase the trouble with strikeouts, but after two straight K’s, the Dodgers’ luck ran out. Shortstop Luis Garcia, suddenly on fire, decided to take this moment to be a hero. He banged a two-run shot to right center and it was 4-3 Nats.
Ninth inning meltdown
The homer was bad enough, but the Dodgers decided that were going to make the humiliation complete in the top of the 9th. Cleavinger was still in the ballgame for some inexplicable reason, and Nats quickly set about to show Dave Roberts that that had been a very bad decision indeed. The Nats sent eight hitters to the plate in the inning, and by the time the dust had cleared, it was 8-3 Washington. There the score would stay for the rest of the night. Sad Trombone emoji.
Dodgers try to salvage a game on Wednesday afternoon
Luckily, Dodger fans will only have to stew in the juices of this stinker for a few hours, as they must rise early and face off against the Nats at 12:10 on Wednesday. We get to see Andrew Heaney and Patrick Corbin in this one. Let’s finish off this home stand right boys. LFG!!
