Nationals blast 4 home runs to beat Dodgers

The Nationals clubbed three home runs against Bud Norris, and the Dodgers couldn't get anything going against struggling pitcher Gio Gonzalez in a 8-1 loss to Washington on Wednesday night.

Bryce Harper was the first to tee off on Norris on Wednesday, with a titanic shot into the third deck in right field, a two-run home run that was measured at the impossibly-short distance of 451 feet.

The Dodgers pulled to within one and the game was a 2-1 contest in the fifth inning, but then things began to unravel.

Ben Revere, who went his first 1,565 major league plate appearances before hitting a home run, back in 2014, hit a solo shot in the fifth inning for his second of the year and sixth of his career. Jayson Werth followed with another home run to widen the Nationals' lead to 4-1.

Norris pitched to two batters in the sixth but didn't retire either of them, allowing two more runs in a three-run inning to put the game away.

The Dodgers couldn't do a thing against Gonzalez, who entered Wednesday with a 4.70 ERA on the season, including a whopping 7.20 in his last 10 starts. But he allowed all of one run in six innings on Wednesday, with six strikeouts and two walks.

Anthony Rendon homered off of J.P. Howell in the eighth to close out the scoring. It marked the third time this season the Dodgers allowed four home runs in a game, and the first since June 2 in Chicago.

Up next

Norris was the first Dodgers pitcher to allow three home runs in a game since June 2. That pitcher starts the series finale, with Julio Urias getting the call for Thursday's 9:05 a.m. PT start. The Dodgers will try to hang the first loss on Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, the first National League pitcher to start 13-0 since 1912.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Bryce Harper (20), Ben Revere (2), Jayson Werth (11), Anthony Rendon (11)

WP - Gio Gonzalez (6-8): 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

LP - Bud Norris (5-8): 5+ IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts