The Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Washington Nationals 13-6 on Friday at Nationals Park, powered by home runs from five different players. Emmet Sheehan earned his first win of the season despite early struggles and reduced fastball velocity. Kyle Tucker and Shohei Ohtani highlighted the offensive outburst with their first homers as Dodgers and of 2026, respectively.
Emmet Sheehan picked up his first win, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings. He averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball, down from 95.6 mph last season, but showed improvement late. Early trouble came in the first inning with a leadoff double to James Wood, a walk to Brady House and a three-run homer by CJ Abrams. Sheehan settled in after that, giving up just one more run on an Abrams RBI single in the third. He struck out two, walked three and threw 61 of 98 pitches for strikes. His velocity ticked up by the sixth inning to 94.5 mph. Manager Dave Roberts called it a step forward, noting Sheehan's length into the sixth. Sheehan credited catcher Will Smith for keeping the Nationals off balance. Roberts added that Sheehan has the weapons to succeed at 92-94 mph if he commands well. Last year, Sheehan went 6-3 with a 2.82 ERA after Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers envision him as a rotation key. The offense exploded for five home runs, starting with Shohei Ohtani's three-run shot in the third off Miles Mikolas, tying the game at 3-3. Mookie Betts followed with a two-run homer. Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman went deep in the fourth and fifth innings. Kyle Tucker added a solo homer in the seventh off Ken Waldichuk, his first as a Dodger after signing a four-year, $240 million deal. Tucker had three hits, his first multi-hit game with Los Angeles. Entering the game, the top of the order had struggled, slashing .172/.287/.276 over six games. Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 38 games. Roberts praised the lineup's potential, joking about their new blue road jerseys sparking the bats. Nationals starter Mikolas said the Dodgers have one of the best lineups, hard to tiptoe around.
