Dodgers hit parade beats Nationals for rainy series win

The Dodgers offense threatened all day against Nationals pitchers, the only thing stopping them was yet another rain delay in Washington DC. Once things dried out, the Dodgers prevailed with a 7-3 win to secure a series win and a break-even road trip on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Multiple Dodgers reached base in five of the first six innings, and they scored in four of those frames, including multiple runs three times.

The bulk of the damage came against starter Trevor Williams, who retired only 12 of his 25 batters faced. Six runs were charged to his ledger in 4⅓ innings.

The game was delayed by rain in the top of the fifth inning, shortly after Williams departed. The 58-minute delay Sunday ran the weekend total to six hours, 42 minutes in the three rain delays in three days.

Contributions came from up and down the Dodgers lineup, but the bottom of the order was especially notable. Miguel Rojas singled four times, tying his career high for hits in a game, his first such game since April 20, 2021. Rojas had his first three-hit game of the season on Thursday in Miami.

Austin Barnes singled twice and had a sacrifice fly. All four of his two-hit games this season have come in his last 12 starts.

Freddie Freeman didn’t double on Sunday, but he did have two singles and scored twice, giving him six hits in the series. He was also intentionally walked by the Nationals in all three games during the weekend.

Jason Heyward got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first inning. Heyward had two hits on Sunday, and had a 5-for-10 road trip.

Kiké Hernández doubled home a run in the sixth inning for his third extra-base hit on the road trip. Hernández has a five-game hit streak and has driven in a run in four straight contests.

Hernández didn’t even start on Sunday, but took over in left field after David Peralta was hit by a pitch in the second inning. Peralta left the game with a left elbow contusion.

Ryan Yarbrough started for the first time as a Dodger after seven bulk relief appearances. Any chance he had at going five innings to qualify for the win evaporated in the rain delay, but he gave the team pretty much what he’s been doing since his arrival.

Yarbrough struck out five and walked none. He’s only walked one of his 104 batters faced with the Dodgers, to go with 24 strikeouts, five of them coming on Sunday.

The Nationals got to Yarbrough for two runs in the fourth inning when four of the first five batters in the frame singled. But Yarbrough allowed only two other batters to reach base during his outing.

It’s been a busy few days for Yarbrough, who welcomed his second daughter on Friday in Florida.

Wander Suero, who was just called back up from Triple-A on Sunday morning, labored through four outs on 40 pitches after the rain delay ended. He gave up a run, but the quartet of Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol, Caleb Ferguson, and Victor González combined for scoreless baseball the rest of the way.

Sunday particulars

Home run: James Outman (19)

WP — Wander Suero (1-0): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

LP — Trevor Williams (6-10): 4⅓ IP, 8 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are back home for a brief, three-game homestand against the Padres starting Monday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA). Pedro Avila starts for San Diego. It won’t be Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers, with his next start pushed back to Friday. Gavin Stone will be called up instead.