Friday, April 3, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

People said, “The Dodgers aren’t hitting.” Panic followed.

That energy was wasted. The Dodgers are a veteran club with a long track record of having good offensive production.

On a beautiful Friday afternoon at Nationals Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers smashed the Washington Nationals, 13–5.

After the Nationals took a three-run lead in the first, Shohei Ohtani blasted a three-run homer in the third. After Kyle Tucker singled, Mookie Betts followed with a home run.

In the fourth, Andy Pages blasted a two-run homer.

In the fifth, after Betts singled, Freddie Freeman pulled a two-run homer. Max Muncy singled, and Teoscar Hernández doubled him home. Tucker singled in Hernández.

Emmet Sheehan struggled through 5.2 innings. He didn’t have good command or velocity. He relied on his changeup. An early spring training illness slowed his ramp-up.  He is dealing with mechanical issues. If he doesn’t improve, he may be replaced in the rotation with River Ryan when the Dodgers feel like they have protected him enough to last through the later stages of the season.

In the seventh, Tucker hit his first home run as a Dodger.

Jack Dreyer, Blake Treinen, and Ben Casparius pitched well in relief.

However, Edgardo Henriquez struggled in the eighth, allowing two runs. Although the 23-year-old has enormous potential, he has command problems. He throws hard but doesn’t know where the ball is going. He needs a better secondary pitch to be an elite major league reliever.

If the Dodgers can carry the momentum through this road trip, it will be an excellent one.