Pinch hitter James Outman doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Shohei Ohtani homered to lead off the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied late for a 4-1 victory over the host Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
The Dodgers, who played their first game of a nine-game road trip, received two hits apiece from Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas. Ohtani’s solo homer, his sixth of the season, was estimated to have traveled 450 feet into the upper deck beyond right field, and it marked the second time this season he has homered in consecutive games.
Evan Phillips walked two batters in the ninth to put two Washington runners on, but Luis Garcia Jr. was caught in a rundown between third base and the plate after CJ Abrams’ single. However, Eddie Rosario’s walk loaded the bases before Jesse Winker struck out, allowing Phillips to earn his sixth save.
Washington, which left 11 runners on base, saw its bullpen fail to protect starter Patrick Corbin’s lead. Corbin tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three, but the Nationals’ relievers could not hold the advantage.
Alex Vesia (1-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win for the Dodgers. Starter James Paxton went 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks with one strikeout. Hunter Harvey (1-1) took the loss for Washington after allowing both eighth-inning runs, and Matt Barnes surrendered Ohtani’s homer.
Abrams had three of the seven hits for the Nationals, who were attempting to get back to .500. Washington’s lone run came in the second inning on Jacob Young’s one-out bunt single, which scored Luis Vargas, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
The Dodgers tied the game in the sixth on Enrique Hernandez’s run-scoring single. In the eighth, Teoscar Hernandez walked and scored on Outman’s double. Rojas then drove in Outman with a two-out single to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.
