 walked Joc Pederson and then gave up a single to Alex Verdugo before exiting with two outs in the eighth. Kyle Barraclough, who was recalled earlier on Friday from Double-A, came in and immediately gave up the Turner blast to center field. Turner has 15 homers this season.Joe Kelly (4-3) retired Anthony Rendon to end the seventh while Kenley Jansen walked home a run before striking out Howie Kendrick with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 25th save of the season.Nationals starter Anibal Sanchez retired the final 20 batters he faced. Sanchez struck out six, while allowing one run on three hits.Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed eight hits and one earned run in 6 2/3 innings.The NL West leading Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak, while the Nationals lost back-to-back games for the first time since June 22-23 against Atlanta.The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Cody Bellinger's RBI single into shallow center field. It was the Dodgers' third single of the inning but their last hit until the eighth.The Nationals tied it at 1-all in the seventh on Adam Eaton's bases-loaded RBI single that scored Victor Robles. Pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra, who reached on a sacrifice bunt and fielding error by Turner, was thrown out at the plate by Alex Verdugo. The Nationals challenged the call and whether catcher Russell Martin had blocked the plate, but the call was upheld after video review.TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: Los Angeles placed infielder David Freese (left hamstring strain) on the 10-day injured list and added infielder Tyler White to the roster. ... Infielder/outfielder Kike Hernandez (left hand soreness) underwent an MRI on Friday and was available only as a defensive replacement.Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer had an MRI on his back Friday morning that revealed a mild strain. Scherzer received a stem cell shot and will not throw for two days but hopes to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday against Atlanta. . Barraclough was recalled from Double-A Harrisburg while outfielder Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Fresno. Barraclough (right radial nerve irritation) was placed on the 10-day injured list June 16 before being optioned to Harrisburg on July 9 where he made five appearances.UP NEXTDodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 2.84 ERA) lost his last appearance to the Nationals on April 20, 2018 but posts a lifetime record of 11-3 with a 2.18 ERA in 16 career games against Washington.Nationals: Washington has yet to name a starter.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Sanchez aims to help Nationals bounce back vs. DodgersFLMThe Washington Nationals were on the cusp of completing a four-game sweep and adding another notch to their sterling two-month run before a tired bullpen ran out of steam.The Nationals won't have long to lament their last contest as they open a three-game series Friday against left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (11-2, 1.76 ERA) and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who own the top record in the National League.Anthony Rendon belted a three-run homer and Matt Adams also went deep on Thursday for Washington, but Fernando Rodney failed to preserve a one-run lead in the ninth inning and Colorado won 8-7 to avoid the sweep."I think my velocity is there. It was one pitch," Rodney told reporters after serving up a homer to former National Ian Desmond in the ninth inning. "I don't know how he hit it down there, but that's baseball." Washington manager Dave Martinez was quick to credit Rodney for stepping up after pitching in both games of Wednesday's doubleheader."We talked to Rodney before the game and he said he can close the game out, so that's what we had. All those guys came in and pitched valiantly," Martinez said. "These guys have been doing an incredible job in the bullpen, so I'm proud of all those guys." Washington's loss -- just its fourth in its last 17 homes games -- dropped the club 4 1/2 games behind National League East-leading Atlanta.Rendon has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games for Washington, going 21-for-58 with 13 RBIs and nine runs scored in that stretch.The 29-year-old Rendon went 3-for-15 with a pair of doubles as the Nationals split their previous four-game series versus the Dodgers in May 9-12.Rendon is 2-for-8 with a home run in his career versus Ryu, who handcuffed Washington and carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in a 6-0 win on May 12.The 32-year-old South Korean owns a 2-1 mark with a 1.35 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in four career starts versus Washington.Ryu improved to 2-0 in his last three starts after yielding one run on four hits in seven innings of a 2-1 win against Miami last Friday.The Dodgers had one day to recover Thursday after dropping both contests of the Freeway Series at home against the Los Angeles Angels, with Cody Bellinger receiving an ejection in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 3-2 setback."It's going to happen," Bellinger told the media of the ejection. "But bottom of the eighth inning, one-run game, you got to lock it in. So just frustration that boiled over." Bellinger will look to work out his frustrations against the Nationals, against whom he went 7-for-13 with three runs scored. The 24-year-old is 2-for-8 against Friday starter Anibal Sanchez (6-6, 3.80).Sanchez improved to 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last nine starts after allowing three runs on six hits in five innings in a 5-3 win against the Braves on Saturday.The 35-year-old dropped to 1-3 with a 3.89 ERA in eight career encounters against the Dodgers after permitting three runs on six hits in 4 1/3 frames of a 5-0 loss on May 10.--Field Level Media
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