WASHINGTON _ The evening unraveled in an instant, the chance for a sweep disappearing in the vapor trail of Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman's game-changing home run. A three-run shot off Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling cost his club the lead in a 7-1 defeat in Sunday's series finale.
Aided by an umpire's close call in the fifth, Stripling could not keep the Nationals quiet in the sixth. After a leadoff walk and a single, he hung a slider to Zimmerman and watched the baseball disappear from sight.
Stripling relieved Hyun-Jin Ryu, who struck out five in 4 2/3 scoreless innings before losing his command of the strike zone. Ryu walked the final two batters he faced. Stripling defused that fire. He started his own an inning later.
The Dodgers (96-53) did not answer. Stephen Strasburg dominated them for six innings. The lone Dodgers run stemmed from a fielder's mistake. The deficit expanded after Walker Buehler gave up a run in the seventh and Josh Ravin surrendered a pair of homers, including a solo shot by Zimmerman, in the eighth.
The Dodgers outscored the Nationals, 10-2, during the first two games of this series. They also faced the bottom tier of the Washington starting staff. Only a series of injuries would force the Nationals to use either Edwin Jackson or A.J. Cole as a starter next month. Strasburg is different.
In his first five starts since coming off the disabled list last month, Strasburg permitted only two runs while striking out 41 batters in 35 innings. The 2.64 earned-run average he carried into Sunday's game was the fourth-lowest in baseball among starting pitchers. He would force the Dodgers to adjust their usual plan of attack.
As a team, the Dodgers do not rely upon speed. Yet they spotted vulnerability in Strasburg's delivery. Justin Turner stole second base after a first-inning walk. An inning later, Yasiel Puig swiped second after a broken-bat single.
Puig was standing on third base when Logan Forsythe came to bat with two outs in the inning. Forsythe had hit .194 this month. Chase Utley appears to have displaced him as the starting second baseman against right-handed pitchers. But manager Dave Roberts decided to start Forsythe on Sunday, citing Utley's .156 batting average in 32 at-bats against Strasburg.
Forsythe would receive credit for a hit in the second. He owed a debt to Washington outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Forsythe drove a 96-mph fastball into center field. Taylor backtracked to the edge of the warning track. He checked his distance from the wall before focusing on the baseball. It hit the heel of his glove and fell to the ground, allowing Puig to score.
Ryu waded through trouble in the bottom of the inning. He yielded back-to-back singles with one out to first baseman Zimmerman and former Dodger Howie Kendrick. Ryu defused the situation. He struck out Taylor on three pitches, then ranged to field a grounder off the bat of catcher Matt Wieters for the third out.
Ryu could not finish the fifth. He faded when facing Strasburg with two outs. Strasburg fouled off three pitches in a row before working a nine-pitch walk. Stripling started to warm in the bullpen. After Ryu walked Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, Roberts sent Stripling to face outfielder Jayson Werth.
Stripling pumped a curveball for a first-pitch strike. Werth swung through a 93-mph fastball. When Stripling tried another fastball, Werth was ready. He ripped a liner into left field.
As the ball landed, third-base umpire Gary Cederstrom held his hands aloft. Foul ball. Werth howled as he ran down the line. The Nationals challenged the call. Cederstrom, the crew chief, communicated with Major League Baseball's offices in New York for 1 minute and 59 seconds.
In one angle, the baseball appeared to kick up a whiff of chalk. In another, it appeared to land a shade outside the line. The evidence was inconclusive. Cederstrom's call was upheld. Nationals manager Dusty Baker spat out his toothpick and stomped on it. Werth flew out on Stripling's next pitch.
Luck did not stay in Stripling's favor. Roberts sent him to face the heart of Washington's lineup. Stripling walked third baseman Anthony Rendon, missing away with fastballs and sliders. Second baseman Daniel Murphy stroked a single up the middle.
With Zimmerman at the plate, Stripling and catcher Yasmani Grandal leaned on sliders. Stripling threw a pair outside the zone. His third hovered at Zimmernan's waist. A tee would have worked just as well.
