James Wood hit two home runs and drove in five to lead the Washington Nationals to an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Nationals Park. The win marked Washington’s fourth straight victory and secured its first home series win over the Dodgers since 2014.
Most oddsmakers favored the Dodgers on the money line, typically around -170, entering the game, while the Nationals were home underdogs near +145. The run total was set at 9, which was surpassed by the end of the fourth inning as Washington took control early.
Wood gave the Nationals an immediate boost with a two-run home run in the first inning off Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski. The rookie outfielder continued his impact at the plate with a bases-loaded walk in the second inning and capped his night with a second two-run homer in the fourth. His performance gave Washington an early 8-0 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach by the midway point.
The 21-year-old Wood also homered in Monday’s series opener and recorded his second career multi-homer game. His first came on September 15 against the Miami Marlins. Since his major league debut on July 1, he has matched the total number of multi-homer games by all other Nationals players combined during that span.
The Dodgers, who had started the season 8-0, have dropped four of their last five games. Shohei Ohtani finished 1-for-5 with a ninth-inning single but struck out twice earlier in the contest, including two swinging strikeouts against Washington rookie Brad Lord.
Wrobleski, making a spot start for Los Angeles in place of injured left-hander Blake Snell, was tagged with the loss and fell to 0-1. In his major league debut, the rookie allowed eight earned runs on eight hits in five innings. Snell was placed on the injured list Sunday due to shoulder inflammation.
Washington received a promising start from Lord, who made his first career start at the major league level. The 25-year-old right-hander pitched three-plus scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Lord was lifted after a leadoff single in the fourth inning. Colin Poche came on in relief and struck out the next three Dodgers batters to maintain the shutout.
Los Angeles managed to avoid being shut out thanks to solo home runs by Andy Pages and Kiké Hernández in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. However, the offense was limited and failed to generate additional scoring threats.
The series will conclude on Wednesday with Los Angeles turning to right-hander Landon Knack, who will make his first start of the season after posting a 1-0 record and 0.00 ERA in relief. Washington is expected to counter with Jake Irvin, who has a 0-0 record and a 5.40 ERA this season. Irvin owns a 1-2 record with a 4.57 ERA in four career appearances against the Dodgers.
