The opening ceremony with the flyover. Photo John Canery.
For two innings yesterday all was right with the world for the Washington Nationals. The sun was shining, the cherry trees behind the left field stands were blooming, the stadium was full, and they led the World Champion Dodgers 3-0. James Wood had led off the Nationals first inning with a double, Brady House walked, and then CJ Abrams homered.
CJ Abrams shows how to hit a three-run homer. Photo John Canery.
The Nationals had returned from a successful season-opening road trip against the Cubs and Phillies, both postseason teams in 2025. They split those six games and had outscored the Cubs and Phillies by a net ten runs. And they were one out away from winning one more game against the Phillies before losing in extra innings. For a rebuilding team like the Nationals, that’s a successful road trip.
Nationals starter Miles Mikolas cruised through the first two innings. Statistically, pitchers tend to get hit harder the third time through the opposing lineup. For Mikolas yesterday, it was one time earlier. The Dodgers got two men on base in the third and then Shohei Ohtani, the best baseball player ever (that’s right, I said what I said) homered to right. Tie game. Then Michael Tucker singled and Mookie Betts homered. 5-3 Dodger lead. There are, by the way, a lot of Dodgers fans in the area and they came out yesterday.
Shohei Ohtani admires his yardwork. Photo John Canery.
The Nationals got a run back in the fourth when with Daylen Lile on second, Abrams blasted a one-hopper at Dodgers second baseman Alex Freeland and the ball bounced away from him. Lile never hesitated and scored on a close play at the plate. Good base-running by the young outfielder. After that, however, the Dodgers took over the scoring.
The first four hitters in the Dodgers lineup consist of Ohtani (see above), Michael Tucker, good enough to sign the second-largest per-season contract in league history, future hall of famer Mookie Betts, and future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman. By the end of the game all four had homered and the Nationals lost 13-6. Mikolas set a Nationals record yesterday, the wrong kind. His 11 earned runs allowed was the most ever by a Nationals/Expos starter.
Mookie Betts giving the Dodgers a 5-3 lead. Photo John Canery.
Mikolas will have better games this year but at 37 his best seasons are behind him, unless the new coaching regime can work some magic. He did retire the Dodgers in order for two innings. He’ll get starts against teams at the bottom of the payroll scale instead of the number one Dodgers. The Nationals’ payroll is about $97 million (25th) and the Dodgers’ is $300 million higher than that (1st). Their $397 million buys a lot of talent. It’s no guarantee of success (looking at you, Mets) but it is clearly a big advantage.
There was good news for the Nationals. Every starter got a hit. The bullpen wasn’t bad in 4 ⅔ innings (two runs allowed). The Nationals are third in the majors in runs scored after, again, a tough schedule so far. That’s a reason to go to the park! There are two other reasons to go see the Nationals-Cardinals game on Tuesday, the 7th: Pups in the Park and the batting practice jersey giveaway for the first 20,000 people.
You can see the Nats play the Dodgers Sunday afternoon and the Cards Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then they head out on the road to Milwaukee, another tough team. We won’t really know how good the Nats are until they play a few series with less-talented teams. They are worth watching right now though.
All photos John Canery, coalminephotography.com
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