Justin Turner had an RBI single in the first at-bat of his return from a rib cage injury and the Los Angeles Dodgers turned a six-run first inning into a 7-1 victory Wednesday afternoon over the visiting Washington Nationals.
Hanser Alberto had a two-run double in the early uprising as the Dodgers scored all of their first-inning runs with two outs to avoid being swept in the three-game series by the National League-worst Nationals.
Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney gave up one hit over four innings in his return from a 5 1/2-week stint in the injured list because of his second bout with shoulder inflammation this season.
Nationals starter Patrick Corbin gave up six runs on seven hits in just two-thirds of an inning in the shortest sting of his 10-year career. Washington fell short of its first series sweep of the season but went 3-3 against the NL-best Dodgers this year.
With Mookie Betts on second base following a first-inning double, the Dodgers had two outs before erupting. Will Smith walked and Turner followed with an RBI single to left in his first at-bat since Thursday. Trayce Thompson added an RBI single before Alberto’s two run-double to right-center.
Austin Barnes’ single made it 5-0 against Corbin, with Gavin Lux appearing to fly out to right-center to end the uprising. But Nationals center fielder Victor Robles and right fielder Juan Soto watched the ball land between them untouched for another run-scoring double.
Washington ended the shutout bid with consecutive doubles from Lane Thomas and Luis Garcia for a run in the seventh. Lux had another RBI for the Dodgers with a single in the eighth.
Corbin (4-14) failed to complete two innings for just the fourth time in 250 career starts while throwing 45 pitches.
Heaney walked three with four strikeouts in just his fourth start of the season, while lowering his ERA to 0.47 over 19 1/3 innings in his first season with Los Angeles. Alex Vesia (3-0) pitched a perfect sixth inning to earn the victory.
Nationals star Juan Soto, who has been the subject of trade rumors in advance of Tuesday’s deadline, went 0-for-3 with a walk and was 2-for-11 in the series.
–Field Level Media