The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals for a second consecutive day as the offense came alive en route to a 9-3 victory at Nationals Park.
The biggest contributions offensively came from rookie catcher Will Smith, who made his first start since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and essentially being named the team’s starting catcher.
In his first at-bat, Smith launched an opposite-field home run, his fourth of the season in just 10 games. Smith was just getting started there, as he hit a fly ball to deep center field in his second plate appearance, good for a sacrifice fly.
That was the only out Smith made on the day. He hit an RBI double in his third trip to the plate, then delivered a three-run double when he came up to bat with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Smith drove in a total of six runs, which is not only a career high, but he also became the first Dodgers rookie with at least six RBI in a game since James Loney had nine in 2006.
He is the first rookie catcher in L.A. franchise history to drive in six runs, breaking Mike Piazza’s record of five, done twice in 1993. Smith additionally joined Bernie Hungling (1922) and Al Lopez (1930) as the only Dodgers rookie catchers with six RBI in a game.
The Dodgers had a total of 10 hits, with half of them going for extra bases. Max Muncy and Corey Seager had two hits each, driving in a run apiece.
Clayton Kershaw had another strong start on the mound to earn his ninth victory of the season. He allowed two runs in the first inning but settled in and limited the Nationals to just one hit the rest of the way.
Kershaw has now tossed at least six innings in all 18 of his starts this season.
