It seemed as if the Dodgers’ newly debuted away blue jerseys were the catalyst for their hitters’ dynamic performance. Donning the “blue batting practice tops,” as Dodger legend and color commentator Orel Hershiser labeled them, the new threads couldn’t have debuted at a better time.
Coming off a disappointing home series against the Cleveland Guardians and having trouble getting their offense out of a slump, the Dodgers were determined to get their bats going to kick off a six-game road trip against the Washington Nationals.
There was no better opportunity to spoil a home opener and spark offensive momentum against Miles Mikolas, the Nationals starter who entered Friday’s game with a career 6.20 ERA against the Dodgers in 10 appearances.
After two quiet innings, the Dodgers’ onslaught started in the top of the third and the “Boys in Blue” made sure to make themselves Mikolas’ worst nightmare. It started as designated hitter Ohtani, with two runners on, blasted a changeup into the outfield seats for his first home run of the season.
Coming into Friday, Ohtani was batting .167 and didn’t even have an extra-base hit nor drive in a run. But in a flash, his drought ended. His 401-foot shot gave the Dodgers a tie game at 3-3, scoring Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages. Outfielder Kyle Tucker immediately scorched a single and shortstop Mookie Betts followed up with a homer of his own for his second of the year, tying Willie Davis for 12th on the all-time Dodgers home run list with No. 154. It was an early season-high five-run inning as the Dodgers took the lead.
For the Dodger pitching, Emmett Sheehan got the start. Although the righty gave up a three-run homer to shortstop C.J. Abrams in the first, the Nationals were only able to score once more in his five 2/3 innings before Enrique Hernandez and Ben Casparius closed it out.
In the fifth inning, Pages kept his hot start going by hitting a two-run home run off Mikolas’ slider, sending the ball 412 feet with a launch angle of 28 degrees and an exit velocity of 109.1 mph.
Mikolas didn’t make matters better for himself, leaving breakers up and heaters right in the sweet spot of Dodger hitters. Shortly after, Mookie Betts singled and first baseman Freddie Freeman joined the home run party by pulling a first-pitch slider into the second deck — his second consecutive game going deep.
Hernandez later drove in third baseman Max Muncy on a double, which sent Mikolas off the field to boos at Nationals Park. Mikolas would end his night with a nightmarish 11 earned runs and 11 hits in just four 1/3 innings. The Dodgers picked him apart early by knowing his tendencies, not missing mistakes, producing traffic on the bases, taking walks and getting a lot of hits. The boys in blue ended up batting around and Tucker capped the Dodger efforts in the fifth with an RBI single.
Tucker capped off his productive afternoon in the seventh inning by taking a sweeper over the right-center wall for his first regular season homer as a Dodger.
The Dodgers’ “Fantastic Four” at the top of the lineup — Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — all made their imprint on the game, each going deep once. The top four hitters combined for a .161 average over the first six games of the season but on Friday went 8-for-21 with four homers, 10 RBI and six runs. The Dodgers had scored just 10 runs over the previous four games but quickly surpassed that total within the first five innings Friday.
The Dodgers will look to keep their bats alive, keep hard-hit balls in play and sweep the Nationals before heading into their World Series rematch in Toronto on Monday.