Despite Roki Sasaki giving up six runs, the Los Angeles Dodgers came back to sweep the Washington Nationals.
By a miracle that is the Los Angeles Dodgers offense, they were able to come away with an Easter Sunday sweep of the Washington Nationals by an 8-6 final.
The Dodgers sent out Roki Sasaki for his second start of the season, and it's up to the eye of the beholder to determine how his start went.
He pitched five innings and gave up six earned runs on five hits while walking three and striking out five.
Sasaki began his outing on a positive note, recording back-to-back scoreless outings and picking up a couple of punchouts. Then the troubles began to unfold, beginning in the third inning.
Apr 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) pitches against Washington Nationals third baseman José Tena (8) during the third inning at Nationals Park. -- © Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesWith the Dodgers up 1-0 after Shohei Ohtani hit a solo home run for his second homer of the year, Sasaki was one out away from recording a third consecutive scoreless inning.
Apr 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) after hitting a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Nationals Park. -- © Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesBut a costly 96.5 mph fastball to the eye level to Luis García Jr. was sent 504 feet for a two-run shot. Then, bad luck struck Sasaki in the fourth inning.
In what was supposed to be a groundout to Freddie Freeman to end the inning, it turned into an RBI single as Keibert Ruiz's grounder hit the first-base bag and levitated itself to the outfield.
This drove in CJ Abrams from second base, extending the Nationals' lead to 3-1.
Washington added to the damage as James Wood caught a cookie off Sasaki's signature splitter down the middle for a three-run shot.
There was plenty to take away from this outing, but one thing stands clear: Sasaki will continue to be given chances to start games for the Dodgers.
It's been the very thing that the Dodgers and Dave Roberts have been iterating on since the start of the season.
Offensively, it took some time for the Dodgers to catch up from the 6-1 hole they were put in, but they managed to chip away. It started in the sixth inning with Dalton Rushing's first home run of the year, a two-run shot that cut their deficit in half.
Freddie Freeman led off the eighth inning with a single, the hot-hitting Andy Pages followed that up with a double, and Alex Call walked, loading the bases.
Santiago Espinal, who pretty much produced in every at-bat he was in this spring for the Dodgers, showed that on Sunday with a two-run single that put the Dodgers within one, 6-5.
Kyle Tucker tied the game, beating out a force play, which allowed Call to score and tie the ballgame. Ohtani came up big with a sacrifice fly, and the Dodgers had their first lead of the game, 7-6.
Teoscar Hernandez put the finishing touches on the Dodgers' comeback win with a solo home run to the deepest part of Nationals Park.
Looking ahead, the Dodgers will travel to Canada for a World Series rematch with the Toronto Blue Jays starting Monday.
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