Dodgers jump to Win over Nationals

Scott Kazmir #29 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 19, 2016 in Washington, DC.

(July 19, 2016 - Source: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images North America)

The Los Angeles Dodgers (53-42) jump out to an early lead as they win at the Washington Nationals (56-38) 8-4 in the opener of their three-game series.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning. 2B Chase Utley hit his second career leadoff homer to put Los Angeles up 1-0. LF Howie Kendrick followed with a single and moved to third base on a double from 3B Justin Turner. With two outs, CF Joc Perderson drove in Howie Kendrick and Justin Turner to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

Los Angeles’ next run came in the following inning. SS Chris Taylor hit a leadoff double and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by SP Scott Kazmir. Chase Utley singled next and brought Chris Taylor home for the 4-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Dodgers added another two runs. Howie Kendrick opened with a walk and Justin Turner followed with a single. 1B Adrian Gonzales’ single drove in Howie Kendrick and two outs later, RF Yasiel Puig singled Justin Turner home for the 6-0 lead.

Washington finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame when C Jose Lobaton homered with two outs.

In the top of the eighth inning, Los Angeles restored their six run lead. Chris Taylor reached on a throwing error by 3B Daniel Murphy and advanced to second base to open the frame. He then moved to third base on a passed ball. After a walk to PH Andrew Toles, Chase Utley eventually drove Chris Taylor home with a single.

The Nationals rallied in the bottom of the inning but came up short. Jose Lobaton drew a leadoff walk and and PH Chris Heisey followed with a single. Both advanced one base each on a wild pitch and Justin Turner’s triple drove them in for two runs.

With one out, Daniel Murphy drove in Justin Turner with a double but the Nationals could not manage to get any more runs on the scoreboard.

C Yasmani Grandal homered with one out in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers an 8-4 win over the Nationals.

Scott Kazmir (8-3) pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 8. His ERA and WHIP improved to 4.30 and 1.27, respectively.

Washington’s SP Reynaldo Lopez (0-1) struggled in his Major League debut. He has the stuff to succeed in the big leagues but nerves and command issues got the better of him. He wound up pitching 4.2 innings, giving up 10 hits, 1 walk and 6 earned runs while fanning 9. He starts his career with a 11.57 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP.

Chase Utley went 3-for-5 with 1 run, 1 HR and 3 RBI. He is now batting .266 and has 46 runs, 6 HR and 30 RBI on the season.