Nationals Fall Short in 6-5 Loss to Dodgers Despite Strong Start From Cade Cavalli
LOS ANGELES — The Washington Nationals came painfully close to taking down one of the National League’s best teams Saturday night, but a late bullpen collapse sent them to a 6-5 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Washington carried a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning before Tommy Edman launched a go-ahead three-run home run that changed the game. The Nationals rallied again in the ninth and put the tying run on third base, but Tanner Scott struck out CJ Abrams to end the threat.
The loss dropped Washington to 67-77 while Los Angeles improved to 85-57 and won its third consecutive game. The Nationals finished with 10 hits compared with seven for the Dodgers and received another impressive performance from Cade Cavalli. Washington did plenty well enough to win, but one difficult inning from the bullpen ultimately proved decisive.
Dodgers Strike First
Los Angeles jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning after a defensive miscommunication extended the frame. Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch and Mookie Betts singled before Kyle Tucker hit a potential inning-ending double-play ball. Cavalli and first baseman Abimelec Ortiz crossed paths covering first, allowing the inning to continue.
Teoscar Hernández capitalized with a two-out RBI single that scored Freeman and gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Hunter Feduccia followed with another RBI single, scoring Tucker to make it 2-0. Cavalli could have unraveled after the difficult opening inning, but instead settled down and dominated the rest of his outing.
Nationals Fight Back
Washington answered immediately in the second inning. Abrams singled, stole second and eventually scored on José Tena’s sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 2-1. That run started a steady comeback against Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow.
The Nationals took the lead in the fourth. Brady House singled before Keibert Ruiz drove him home with an RBI single, tying the game at 2-2. Dylan Crews followed with an RBI double that scored Ruiz and gave Washington its first lead of the night at 3-2.
Cavalli continued mowing through Los Angeles after the first. The right-hander retired 15 of the final 16 Dodgers he faced and completed six innings while allowing only two runs on four hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out eight, continuing what has become a strong second half of the season.
Cavalli’s eight strikeouts pushed him to 75 since the All-Star break, placing him among the National League leaders during that stretch. More importantly, he demonstrated the ability to recover after an early mistake and give Washington a chance against a championship-caliber lineup. He left the game with the Nationals holding a 3-2 advantage.
Washington Extends the Lead
The Nationals added another run in the seventh after Crews doubled to begin the inning. Glasnow exited after allowing the hit, and Alex Vesia entered from the Los Angeles bullpen. Daylen Lile then delivered an RBI double that scored Crews and extended Washington’s lead to 4-2.
Glasnow was charged with four runs on six hits over six-plus innings. He walked three and struck out eight but escaped without a decision. Washington had done something difficult through seven innings: build a multi-run lead against one of baseball’s strongest teams on the road.
Edman Changes Everything
Clayton Beeter entered for Washington in the bottom of the seventh and quickly ran into trouble. After getting two outs, Beeter walked Alex Freeland and allowed a single to Enrique Hernández. That brought Edman to the plate with two runners aboard and Washington still leading by two.
Edman turned on a 2-1 slider and launched it 388 feet into the right-field seats for his sixth home run of the season. The three-run shot instantly turned Washington’s 4-2 advantage into a 5-4 deficit. It was the biggest swing of the game and handed Beeter his seventh blown save of the season.
The Dodgers added what became a crucial insurance run in the eighth inning. Betts singled, Tucker walked and Freeland later drew another walk to load the bases. Alex Call was then hit by a pitch, forcing Betts home and extending Los Angeles’ advantage to 6-4.
That run looked minor at the time but proved enormous one inning later. Washington had another rally left, and without that insurance run the Nationals might have been playing for the lead rather than merely trying to tie the game.
Nationals Rally in Ninth
Washington refused to go quietly against Scott in the ninth. After Scott struck out Yohandy Morales and Crews, James Wood singled with two outs to keep the game alive. Lile followed with an RBI single that scored Wood and cut Los Angeles’ lead to 6-5.
Andrés Chaparro then doubled to left, moving Lile to third and putting the tying run 90 feet away while the go-ahead run stood at second. Abrams came to the plate with a chance to completely change the game, but Scott struck him out swinging. Scott earned his 21st save and preserved the Dodgers’ one-run victory.
Lile finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Crews went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Ruiz also collected two hits and drove in a run. Washington finished 10-for-36 offensively and stole three bases, with Abrams, Wood and Crews each swiping one.
The Nationals’ pitching line tells the story of the night. Cavalli gave Washington six excellent innings, but Beeter allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning and took the loss. Alex Vesia earned the win for Los Angeles, while Scott worked through the ninth-inning pressure to close it out.
MSB Take
This is one of those losses that will sting because Washington did almost everything needed to beat the Dodgers. Cavalli pitched like a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter, the Nationals collected 10 hits, and Washington carried a two-run lead into the seventh. The difference was one bullpen sequence where a walk, a single and a hanging slider erased six innings of excellent work.
Cavalli continues to be one of the most encouraging developments for the Nationals. He responded to a difficult opening inning by dominating the Dodgers for the next five frames, and performances like this are exactly what Washington needs as it continues building its rotation. If Cavalli carries this level of consistency forward, he gives the Nationals an important piece to build around.
Washington also deserves credit for how it responded after losing the lead. The Nationals did not fold after Edman’s homer or the Dodgers’ insurance run, and their ninth-inning rally put real pressure on Los Angeles until the final pitch. For a young club, learning how to turn competitive performances like this into victories is the next step, and Saturday night showed both how close Washington is and how unforgiving late-game mistakes can be.
