Blake Snell delivered six scoreless innings, Kyle Tucker contributed a home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 5-3 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Teoscar Hernandez had a two-run double, one game after hitting a two-run game-ending double as the Dodgers won their second consecutive game without Shohei Ohtani, who is dealing with a sore knee, biceps and neck.
Snell (3-1) gave up five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts and has allowed just three total runs in five starts since returning from a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
James Wood had two doubles and drove in a run for the Nationals, who lost their second consecutive game after winning five of six. Jackson Kent (1-3) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts over five innings of his fifth career start.
Washington dropped the opener of a six-game California road trip that also includes a stop at San Diego.
Tucker started the Dodgers’ three-run third with a walk and Enrique Hernandez followed with a free pass of his own. Mookie Betts had a one-out single for a 1-0 lead and Teoscar Hernandez followed with a two-run double to the exact spot in the outfield where he hit his game-ending double against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
Los Angeles made it 4-0 in the fourth when Alex Call doubled against his former club and scored on a Tommy Edman ground ball that was misplayed by Nationals shortstop Nasim Nunez.
In the final month of a disappointing season, Tucker came through with a home run in the sixth for a 5-0 Dodgers lead. It was just his 12th home run of the season, his third in 67 home games and his first since Aug. 8.
The Nationals prevented a second consecutive shutout loss when Abimelec Ortiz had an RBI single in the ninth against Seth Halvorsen. Jorbit Vivas added an RBI groundout, and Wood doubled in a run to bring the tying run to the plate before Chaparro flied out to end the game. Jack Dreyer recorded the final three outs for his second save.
–Field Level Media
