Saturday, April 4, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

After Kyle Tucker’s single and Mookie Betts’ walk, Freddie Freeman doubled them home, and the Dodgers never looked back.

On a beautiful late Saturday afternoon at Nationals Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals, 10–5.

Betts left the game after scoring a run in the first inning with a right lower back issue. The Dodgers are awaiting imaging results. If Betts needs to miss time, the team could promote Hyeseong Kim. Betts leads the Dodgers in RBI, making his absence significant.

In the second, Alex Freeland singled, moved to second on Alex Call’s groundout, advanced to third on Shohei Ohtani’s single, and scored on Miguel Rojas’ sacrifice fly. Freeman added another two-run double.

With an out in third, Andy Pages, who leads the major leagues in hits, had an infield single and scored on Alex Call’s single.

To open the fifth, Will Smith singled, and Max Muncy singled him to second. Pages blasted a home run.

After two starts in the 2026 season, Tyler Glasnow looks like a National League Cy Young award candidate. For the first time this year, a Dodger starter reached 100 pitches. Glasnow struck out nine and walked two batters on 102 pitches. He was consistently in front of hitters, something that he struggled with in 2025. His breaking pitches were sharp. He baffled a young, good-hitting Nationals’ lineup.

Tanner Scott pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Rojas, filling in for the injured Betts, made a highlight play to get the last out.

Both Eduardo Henriquez and Ben Casparius allowed two runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Dodgers will have an opportunity to sweep the Nationals on Sunday. Roki Sasaki has a chance to show he belongs in the starting rotation.