Dodgers Recap: Miguel Rojas, Clayton Kershaw Push Dodgers Past Nationals in Opener

CHAVEZ RAVINE — Coming off of what was such an emotional series between the Dodgers and the Padres, it’s difficult to expect a team to carry that same energy against their next opponent. And facing a tough lefty in the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, it would have been easy to excuse a sloppy game from Los Angeles. But the Dodgers didn’t do that; Instead, they put together an impressive victory, getting key contributions from Clayton Kershaw and the bottom of the batting order to post a 6-5 win over the Nats on Friday night. The win further distanced the Dodgers from a couple of key NL West foes.

It was Clayton Kershaw on the bump for the Dodgers, who entered the night just a dozen strikeouts away from 3,000 in his illustrious career. But it was Washington who struck in the first inning, with former “blink-and-you’d-miss-him” Dodger Amed Rosario sending a four-seam fastball high and deep into the left-field pavilion for a solo home run. It’s the fifth straight game the Dodgers’ opponent has scored first, and while they’ve been able to overcome it, the lack of ability to jump out to early leads is becoming a somewhat concerning trend for Los Angeles.

In the bottom of the third, with runners on the corners and one out, Mookie Betts grounded into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. It would’ve been another rough at-bat for Betts, who’s been scuffling since, well, really the beginning of the year. Betts ended the night with a .735 OPS, a mark that ranks twelve points lower than Miguel Rojas‘ OPS last season. Still, though, Mookie’s found ways to contribute, whether that be his defense at shortstop, or in this case, his speed. After acting manager Danny Lehmann (Doc was serving his suspension) challenged the out call, it was ruled that Betts was safe at first, and the game was tied. Two hitters later, Teoscar Hernandez, grounded a ball to shortstop that CJ Abrams flipped to no one, and Betts, with great baserunning, came around to score the go-ahead run. Andy Pages followed with a rocket of a base hit into center field to make it 3-1 Dodgers.

The Dodgers would tack on another run in the fourth on Shohei Ohtani‘s RBI single, before Washington got it right back in the fifth on a Riley Adams solo blast. Kershaw was able to finish five innings, however. He picked up four K’s along the way, putting him eight away from 3,000. While it’s probably unrealistic to expect him to reach the milestone in his next start at Coors Field, it’s possible. If he doesn’t get it against the Rockies, mark your calendar for somewhere around July 1st against the White Sox.

In the bottom of the sixth, it looked like the Dodgers had broken it open. Miguel Rojas launched a two-run moonshot off of Gore to make it 6-2, and with all of their high leverage arms available, it looked to be smooth sailing for the Dodgers. But the pesky Nats didn’t go down without a fight. After Alex Vesia loaded the bases in the seventh, Luis Garcia Jr ripped a liner into right field against Kirby Yates, scoring two, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half, and putting the tying runs into scoring position. And for a split second, it appeared they had done so. Nathaniel Lowe‘s line drive into left field was heading for green grass, until Michael Conforto came out of nowhere to make a sensational diving grab, preserving the Dodgers lead.

It would stay 6-4 until the ninth, when Tanner Scott came on for his fourth appearance in six days. Scott got Jacob Young to fly out, but after CJ Abrams crushed one over the center field wall and just out of the reach of Hye-Seong Kim, it was just a one-run game. But Scott buckled down. He got Rosario to hit a high bouncer to Betts, and retired Washington’s most dangerous hitter James Wood by inducing him to roll over to second base.

It’s a good start to the weekend for the Dodgers, who are looking for their fourth consecutive series win. They got some help from some American League teams as well, as the Red Sox beat the Giants by a couple of runs and the Royals outlasted the Padres, 6-5. Los Angeles will look for a series victory tomorrow night, with Dustin May taking the ball for the Dodgers and Jake Irvin countering for the Nationals. First pitch: 7:10 Pacific Time.

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