The Los Angeles Dodgers are finally starting to turn things around, as their 7-2 victory to sweep the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon was their fourth straight win.
The offensive outburst came mainly via the long ball, as the Dodgers erupted for three home runs on the day. Two of them were two-run shots, which were the first non-solo home runs for the Dodgers since May 1.
Yasmani Grandal hit the first home run of the day, taking Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg deep in the second inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. The homer was Grandal’s eighth of the season, which leads the team.
Kiké Hernandez then broke the solo-home run streak in the top of the fifth, by ambushing Strasburg’s first pitch after he walked Logan Forsythe to begin the inning.
The final home run came off the bat of Yasiel Puig against reliever Wander Suero, providing the Dodgers some much-needed insurance runs.
Alex Wood had another solid outing, this time earning his first win of the season. He went six innings, giving up just three hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one. Wood was set to begin the seventh but was removed due to cramping.
With Kenley Jansen unavailable after picking up two saves on Saturday, the Dodgers bullpen stepped up in a big way by combining to toss three shutout innings to complete the victory. Josh Fields earned a four-out save, buoyed by Joc Pederson’s run-scoring double and Cody Bellinger’s RBI groundout in the top of the ninth.
