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.
