Dodgers beat Nationals 5-3 as Tucker, Snell shine
Kyle Tucker homered and Blake Snell struck out 7 over 6 scoreless innings as the Dodgers beat the Nationals 5-3, moving to 84-57 and 10 games up in the NL West.
Tucker snaps his home run drought
The Dodgers beat the Nationals 5-3 at home on September 4, moving to 84-57 and continuing a 3-2 stretch over their last 5 games. Kyle Tucker led the way, going 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI — a sixth-inning solo shot that, per Katie Woo, ended a drought dating back to his last homer on August 8 and snapped an even longer one at Dodger Stadium going back to June 15.
Nationals5-3Blake Snell was excellent again, throwing 6 scoreless innings on 5 hits, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. The offense built the lead early: Teoscar Hernandez ripped a two-run double with an exit velocity of 110.3 mph in the third, per Woo, and Washington's Nunez booted a routine grounder in the fourth that pushed the lead to 4-0, per Mark Zuckerman. Washington rallied for 3 runs in the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate with 2 outs before Andres Chaparro's drive was caught at the warning track, Zuckerman reported.
The win kept Los Angeles 10 games clear of second-place San Diego (74-67), whose elimination number sits at 12, and 10.5 up on Arizona (74-68), whose elimination number sits at 11.
Shut 'em down, Blake.
Recent News
Shohei Ohtani was out of the Dodgers' lineup for a second consecutive night, per Foul Territory TV, and Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports that Dave Roberts does not expect him back Saturday against the Nationals either, as the DH continues to deal with knee and biceps soreness. Roberts has called a trip to the injured list 'unlikely.'
Barstool Bush reported this week that the Dodgers are weighing shutting Ohtani down as a pitcher for the rest of 2026, after he has missed 2 straight starts with bicep and neck pain. For now the issue is being managed day-to-day rather than treated as serious enough for the injured list.
Upcoming
Tonight, the Dodgers host the Nationals, with Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 2.79 ERA) on the mound after allowing 1 earned run over 7 innings against Detroit on August 30. He faces Cade Cavalli (12-5, 3.12 ERA), who was even better in his last outing, working 4 innings of no-hit ball with 8 strikeouts against Miami on August 29 before leaving with a no-decision.
Los Angeles is favored, and the total points to a low-scoring game between two pitchers who have been hard to hit lately. For that price to hold, Glasnow needs to repeat his last outing rather than a shorter one that taxes the bullpen, while Washington will need more from its lineup than it managed in this series to keep pace.