Steve Webb
Game 19, 4/15/2024: Dodgers 4, Nationals 6
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — In his last start in Minnesota, Tyler Glasnow looked like he was the ace of this staff. In his start on Monday night back in Los Angeles, he… didn’t. Struggling to miss bats all night, the Dodgers’ prized righthander was hit hard and hit often in this one, surrendering six earned runs and getting his first L of the year as the Dodgers dropped their Jackie Robinson Day game to the Washington Nationals by a score of 6-4.
Almost immediately, it was apparent that Glasnow didn’t have the good stuff in this one. Nats leadoff hitter C.J. Abrams ripped a double to lead off the top of the first and eventually would score on a Glasnow wild pitch to get the Nats on the board. The pesky Abrams came back a bit later to touch up Glasnow for a solo shot in the top of the third, but it was the three-run homer in the fifth that would prove to be his undoing. Jesse Winker hit a one-out single to start the rally, and after the second out was recorded, Glasnow walked the strikeout-prone Joey Gallo on just four pitches. That gave the opportunity to infielder Luis Garcia Jr., who made the most of it. When a 3-2 slider was meaty and hanging, Garcia walloped the ball into left center. It just cleared the fence, but it made the Nats’ advantage 6-2 at that point, and there would be no coming out of that hole.
“It’s just not a lot of execution,” Glasnow said to reporters after the game. “I don’t think any of the pitches were really working, not hitting my spots and falling behind early. If I’m normally throwing kind of one pitch for a strike, I think you’re able to sit on something and stay on the heater, and I think it’s just easier to sell out for one pitch.”
The Dodgers managed to scratch across a couple of runs late, but all night they were looking for a big hit with runners in scoring position that just never came. In all they were 1-for-6 in that stat, and just didn’t seem to be able to get much going offensively all night.
Most of the credit for that needs to go to the Nationals rookie starter, 25-year-old Mitch Parker, who was making his big-league debut. The Dodgers touched him up for a couple of runs, but by and larger Parker pitched admirably, and I guess you could even say he outpitched Tyler Glasnow, he of the high-priced extension.
“Nobody likes to lose. But you can’t panic,” said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. “It’s just what happens in baseball. They played better than us tonight, so we just have to show up tomorrow with the same enthusiasm and try to win.”
Over 162, talent always wins out, and I’d be very surprised if there weren’t a good thirty games between these two teams by the end of the year. But on this night anyway, the Nationals were the better team. Which I’ve been saying a bit too often lately; the Dodgers have dropped four of five, and are just 1-3 to start this homestand.
No me gusta.
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