WASHINGTON _ Powered by a two-run, ninth-inning double by Matt Kemp, the Los Angeles Dodgers survived a blister-shortened outing from Rich Hill, a curious strategic decision by manager Dave Roberts and a dominant performance by Nationals ace Max Scherzer to sweep a doubleheader at Nationals Park.
Kemp came off the bench to send the Dodgers to a 5-4 victory in the nightcap after the team rode Ross Stripling's right arm for a 4-1 victory earlier in the day.
Kemp doubled off Nationals closer Sean Doolittle after singles by catcher Austin Barnes and second baseman Logan Forsythe. The hit brought his dugout to life as the Dodgers (19-26) celebrated their third victory in a row. Kenley Jansen arrived in the ninth inning for his second save of the day _ having not pitched in a save situation since May 9.
The Dodgers did not exit the day unscathed. Hill left the second game after only two pitches. The blister ruptured and forced his exit. The issues with Hill's finger dated back to April 14, when he cracked a nail before suffering a subsequent infection and developing a blister. Little that occurred on Saturday qualified as a surprise.
The blister shortened Hill's last start. The Dodgers still allowed Hill to take the mound in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader without a long reliever available in the bullpen, having deployed their bullpen in routine fashion in the day's first game as Stripling set a career high with nine strikeouts.
Early in the first game, Stripling noted the expansiveness of umpire Mike Estabrook's strike zone. Estrabrook rewarded the pitchers with strikes beneath the usual contours of the zone, a factoid which Stripling and catcher Yasmani Grandal capitalized on. After an RBI single by Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in the third, Stripling allowed only one additional hit.
Stripling had struck out the side in the first inning; he repeated the feat in the sixth, as Harper and first baseman Matt Adams both watched as offspeed pitches snapped into Grandal's glove. Harper stared at a slider. Adams took a looping curveball.
The Dodgers generated most of their support through an unlikely source: Productive outs. Joc Pederson led off the day with a triple against Nationals starter Tanner Roark and scored on a sacrifice fly by Yasmani Grandal. Cody Bellinger beat out a double-play ball to drive in a run in the third. After doubling home a run in the sixth, Muncy added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
"We did some good situational hitting today," Roberts said in between games.
Stripling (1-1, 2.08 earned-run average) collected his first victory of the season. He has posted a 3.26 ERA in four outings this season after opening the year in the bullpen. He has remained flexible despite limited information provided by his employers.
"No one's even really told me what I'm doing," Stripling said. "They're like 'Hey, you've got a bullpen today.' 'OK, does that set me up for Saturday?' They're like, 'Yeah.' All right, sweet."
After the game, Stripling became the first Dodgers official to reveal anything resembling a timetable for Kershaw, suggesting Kershaw could return within 10 days. At that point, the team would need to decide if Stripling would remain a starter. Hill might have scuttled that debate before it could take place.
The Dodgers added a trio of new relievers to their roster for the doubleheader. The team activated Tony Cingrani from the disabled list, added Erik Goeddel to the roster and used Yimi Garcia as the 26th man. Brock Stewart, one of the few potential long relievers, had thrown three innings on Thursday at triple-A Oklahoma City. Stewart pitched despite the forecasts predicting weather-related havoc and despite the concern about Hill's blister.
Hill was pitching for the third time since cracking his fingernail. He threw an 89-mph fastball for strike one to Washington shortstop Trea Turner. He pumped another fastball for another strike. Then he checked his finger. The television cameras captured a chunk of flesh protruding from the digit. There was no debate to remain in the game.
That left an entire game for this beleaguered bullpen to complete. The group responded to the challenge with some of its best work of the season. Washington did not record a hit until the sixth inning. Scott Alexander and Pedro Baez each contributed two scoreless innings. Yimi Garcia pitched a clean fifth inning before returning for the sixth.
Turner greeted Garcia with a double. Roberts sent Cingrani to face Harper. Cingrani clipped Harper with a slider. Two batters later, he gave up a two-out RBI double to first baseman Mark Reynolds. After Cingrani threw a pair of balls to outfielder Michael A. Taylor, Roberts elected to intentionally walk Taylor and bring in right-handed reliever Daniel Hudson. Taylor was hitting .138 in his previous eight games before Saturday, but Roberts did not trust Cingrani to get him out.
Washington manager Dave Martinez countered with left-handed hitter Adams off his bench. The platoon advantage proved vital. Adams connected with a two-run single.
Scherzer added an RBI single to take a two-run lead. A solo homer by Cody Bellinger halved the deficit in the eighth. Kemp came through in the ninth.
