LOS ANGELES_Gerardo Parra was wearing a different uniform with a weird number at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. He wasn't No. 8 in the rival San Francisco Giants' black and orange anymore. He was No. 88 in red and navy, signed to the reeling Washington Nationals on Thursday to supplement a weakened roster. The switch did not change his treatment of the Dodgers.
The former Giant continued tormenting Los Angeles in his second game as a National, smashing a go-ahead, two-out grand slam in the eighth inning against Dylan Floro in the Dodgers' 5-2 loss. Parra's first home run as a National was, fittingly, his eighth career home run against the Dodgers. It's the veteran outfielder's most against any club over his 11-year career.
The swat deflated an amped crowd begging for Floro to escape the jam he entered. The right-hander was summoned with the bases loaded and one out in an inning that began with Wilmer Difo singling and third baseman Justin Turner throwing a ball into right field attempting to start a double play with Pedro Baez on the mound.
Juan Soto, the Nationals' wunderkind playing in his first game off the injured list, smacked a line-drive single off Scott Alexander on the ninth pitch of the at-bat after fouling off six straight pitches to slice the Dodgers' lead to one.
Floro's first test was the dangerous Anthony Rendon. He got the right-handed slugger to strike out on the eighth pitch of the clash, a 94-mph sinker. Floro got to two strikes on Parra too, but then he left a center-cut fastball Parra didn't miss.
Just like that, Walker Buehler's seven shutout innings were wasted. He was almost untouchable after an odd first inning.
Adam Eaton sparked the strangeness with an excuse-me, check-swing, line-drive single to left field. Victor Robles followed with a push bunt to second baseman Enrique Hernandez. Hernandez attempted to tag Eaton as he sprinted by him upon gathering the ball, but couldn't reach and spun to make an off-balance throw to first base. The ball bounced away from first baseman Max Muncy. Eaton advanced to third base and Robles went to second on the error.
Soto drew a walk to load the bases _ for a split second. The Dodgers' fortunes suddenly reversed there. Inexplicably, Robles jogged halfway between second and third base after the pitch _ perhaps thinking the bases were already loaded and the walk was pushing him to third. He realized his head-scratching gaffe too late. Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes fired a throw to second base in time to steal an out. Buehler did the rest, getting Rendon to fly out and striking out Parra on a curveball in the dirt to wiggle free unscarred.
After that, Buehler breezed, giving up two more hits over his seven innings. He retired 18 of the final 19 batters and the final 12. He struck out seven. His only walk was the free pass he issued to Soto in the first inning. He threw 97 pitches.
On the other side, bad luck, shabby defense, and little run support have plagued Max Scherzer this season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner entered Saturday with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.94 FIP (fielding independent pitching), a statistic that measures a pitcher's performance by stripping away defense. The substantial difference between the two matches the eye's assessment: Scherzer has been snakebitten. As a result, the Nationals (16-23) were 1-7 in his first eight starts.
His only trouble Saturday, however, was self-induced. Scherzer retired the first two hitters in the third inning before Muncy fell behind 0-2 and fought back to work a walk. Turner capitalized on Muncy's labor and crushed a fastball over the fence in center field. It was Turner's fifth home run in four games and sixth this season after not homering in his first 123 plate appearances.
The tumult did not derail Scherzer. He powered through seven innings, pushing his pitch count to 115 _ a total rarely reached in today's age of coddled pitches. He departed with the Dodgers holding a two-run lead that seemed so much bigger.
