It's safe to say Clayton Kershaw won't be pitching anywhere near the strike zone the next time he faces Adam Dunn.
Dunn hit two three-run homers, accounting for all six Nationals' runs as they beat the Dodgers, 6-3. The Padres also lost, but the Giants won. But let's be honest, as long as the Dodgers keep losing, the amount of games back make no difference, so I'll skip that part. If you want to know, look it up yourself. I won't waste my time.
The first blow came in the first. With one out, Ian Desmond hit an infield single, and Ryan Zimmerman reached on a walk. Dunn then crushed one that just stayed inside the foul pole in right for a three-run shot, and it was 3-0.
Scott Podsednik tried to get things going for the Dodgers by laying down a great bunt to lead off. Ryan Theriot walked, and the Dodgers were in business.
I'd like to pause right here to give you a chance to guess what happened next. Did they A) Hit a home run? B) Get any other sort of hit? Or C) Fail to score any runs and end the inning with a double play?
These are the Dodgers, so of course it was C! Andre Ethier flied to center, and Matt Kemp grounded into a double play. Surprising? Nope. The Dodgers continually find ways to screw up when opportunity knocks.
Dunn was back at it again in the third. Desmond and Zimmerman flopped roles this time, as Desmond walked and Zimmerman singled with nobody out. Dunn then knocked one square off of the foul pole in right, and it was 6-0 just like that.
The only time the Dodgers looked even somewhat in this game was in the fourth. Theriot has been a singles machine, and he got another one leading off. Ethier then hit his 18th homer of the season, a two-run job to make it 6-2. Now with one out, James Loney walked and took second on a passed ball. Casey Blake's RBI single made it 6-3.
The rest of the night the Dodgers managed only one hit. One. Measly. Hit. That came from Theriot in the fifth, another single. Maybe he should hit cleanup. Seriously, better than watching Kemp go through the motions of another horrible at-bat. I'll take singles over nothing.
Kershaw will have better days, as he couldn't hold Dunn down if his life depended on it. To his defense, Dunn is in the middle of a hot streak, so he shouldn't feel too bad. He's just the latest pitcher to be victimized. On the night, he went six innings for seven hits, six run, two walks, and nine strikeouts.
Kenley Jansen pitched the seventh and survived a couple walks for a scoreless inning. Ramon Troncoso pitched the eighth well, then got into a little trouble in the ninth by letting two reach with two outs. George Sherrill struck out Adam Kennedy with a nice breaking ball to end the inning.
That makes three straight good appearances by Sherrill. Dare I say that means he's back to being a good reliever? No I wouldn't, because I'd be an idiot if I did.
New Nationals closer Drew Storen worked the ninth for his first save. He faced the bottom part of the order. Not that it matters. Top, middle, or bottom, it all looks the same: terrible.
John Lannan has been so bad this year that he was sent down to Triple-A at one point. How poorly did the Dodgers do against him? Let's put it this way - his ERA after this game stands at 5.44. Way to make a horrible pitcher look like Cy Young, offense.
There's not a whole lot to say about the Dodgers at this point that hasn't been spoken (or yelled, or cursed) in recent weeks. If the pitching isn't top notch, they won't win. It's not like the offense will bail them out. They just don't nearly have enough punch to get it done. And that's reality with this bunch.
Hiroki Kuroda will look to reverse a poor start against the Padres last time out by going to the hill on Saturday. He'll be opposed by 97-year-old Livan Hernandez, who's actually enjoying a great season with a 3.12 ERA. He's probably licking his chops right now.
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