Dodgers Sweep Washington, But Sasaki Concerns Keep Getting Louder

Even the Dodgers’ latest come‑from‑behind win — an 8–6 escape act to finish off a sweep in Washington — won’t quiet the growing conversation around what to do with Roki Sasaki. For a moment, it looked like the afternoon might finally give the rookie a breather. Nine pitches in the first inning. A crisp second. And then, inning by inning, the pitch count climbed and the hole deepened. By the time Sasaki trudged off after four complete, Los Angeles was staring at a five‑run deficit.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, playing from behind has become less of a problem and more of a personality trait. And once again, when the game tilted toward chaos, their bats woke up right on cue. The eighth inning belonged to Los Angeles, and as you’d expect from a team that’s made a habit of stealing wins late, they found a way to turn a bleak afternoon into another notch in the win column.

Santiago Espinal — whose spring performance is aging like a prediction everyone should’ve seen coming — delivered the spark. His two‑run single in the eighth didn’t just break the dam; it changed the entire temperature of the game.

A Rocky Start for Roki

A two‑hour, fifteen‑minute rain delay pushed Sasaki’s second start back, but he opened like a pitcher eager to reset the narrative: two quick innings, three strikeouts, and only one baserunner reaching. Shohei Ohtani rewarded the effort with a 438‑foot missile to dead center in the third, giving the Dodgers a brief 1–0 lead.

But the fourth inning unraveled everything. A two‑strike mistake to Luis García Jr. tied the game. Then came the bad luck — a weak grounder that hit the first‑base bag and shot over Freddie Freeman’s head — followed by the bad pitch: a splitter left up that James Wood launched into the center‑field seats. In the span of a few batters, the Nationals had a 6–1 lead and Sasaki was wearing another outing that felt more like a lesson than a step forward.

He steadied himself for a clean fifth, but the line remained harsh: five innings, six earned runs, five hits, three walks, and a 7.00 ERA that tells the story of a pitcher still searching for his footing.

The Comeback Machine Reboots

Dalton Rushing cut the deficit to 6–3 with a two‑run shot in the sixth — his second straight start against a lefty and his first homer of the season. Behind him, the bullpen did what the bullpen has done all year: Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer posted scoreless frames, keeping the game within reach.

Washington kept rolling out left-handers, but the eighth inning finally broke them. Freddie Freeman singled. Andy Pages doubled. Alex Call walked. Bases loaded, nobody out — and Espinal delivered the moment he’s been hinting at since March, shooting a two‑run single up the middle to make it 6–5.

Will Smith, pinch‑hitting for Rushing, walked to reload the bases. Kyle Tucker tied the game by beating out a fielder’s choice. And Ohtani, because of course he did, lifted a sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers their first lead since the third.

Teoscar Hernández added insurance in the ninth with a towering homer to left‑center — his first of the season — and Edwin Díaz slammed the door for his third save.

Game Notes

• Home runs: Ohtani (2), Rushing (1), Hernández (1); García Jr. (1), Wood (2)

• Winning pitcher: Jack Dreyer (1–0) — 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R

• Losing pitcher: Cionel Pérez (0–1) — 0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER

• Save: Edwin Díaz (3)

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Up Next

The Dodgers head north for a 2025 World Series rematch in Toronto, where Justin Wrobleski makes his season debut against Max Scherzer at Rogers Centre.