The Los Angeles Dodgers began their first road trip of the season by traveling to the nation’s capital as they faced off against the Washington Nationals.
It was also the home opener for the Nationals, so the Dodgers were looking to spoil some of that fun. While the Nationals jumped out to a lead, it turned out to be all Dodgers for the rest of the game.
Still, the Dodgers have now trailed in six of their seven games to begin the season, a trend they will surely want to turn around soon.
Dodgers 13, Guardians 6: key takeaways
Dodges offense breaks out with 5 homers
Although it was the Nationals that took an early 3-0 lead, it was the Dodgers’ offense that put on a show in this one. They hit five homers in the game and put up 11 runs in the first five innings.
Shohei Ohtani started the home run party with a three-run shot that tied the game in the third inning, and then Mookie Betts followed two batters later with a two-run homer to put the Dodgers ahead.
Andy Pages continued his hot start by slugging a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and Freddie Freeman also added a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Kyle Tucker hit the final home run of the game, hitting a solo blast in the seventh inning for the first home run of his Dodgers career.
In addition, the Dodgers also scored runs on a double from Hernández and a single from Tucker in the seventh inning. Ohtani also drove in a run on a sac fly in the ninth.
Emmet Sheehan’s velocity remains a concern
Emmet Sheehan turned in a solid start, but concerns about his velocity remain, and his stuff wasn’t as dominant as he’s shown in the past. Overall, the right-hander turned in 5.2 innings while allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Sheehan averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball, a significant drop from the 95.6 mph he averaged last year. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has insisted Sheehan was dealing with some mechanical issues that caused the drop, but believed those were addressed heading into this game.
When Roberts was asked if Sheehan could be hiding an injury after his last start, the manager said Sheehan has said he’s healthy, but also noted players need to be honest with the team if they’re dealing with something.
Dodgers debut new jersey
For the first time in history, the Dodgers wore a blue jersey on the road. The team unveiled their new uniform yesterday.
Prior to today, the Dodgers only wore blue jerseys during Spring Training. During the 1999 season, the team did wear a blue alternate, and they also had their blue City Connect jerseys, but both of those were only worn at Dodger Stadium.
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