Instant analysis: Dodgers 9, Nats 2

Associated Press

Game in a nutshell: If you thought Friday and Saturday night's 3-2 and 3-1 losses were aggravating, what do you consider this demolishing in the final game of a brutal series? Jordan Zimmermann got rocked, giving up seven runs in the second inning alone. That left the rest of the Nationals needing to score a touchdown against Clayton Kershaw. Good luck with that. If not for Jayson Werth's two solo homers, Kershaw tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against the Nats, striking out nine without issuing a walk. Ross Ohlendorf did manage to turn in the equivalent of a "quality start" out of the bullpen, giving up two runs over six innings in relief of Zimmermann. But that was a grasp at a silver lining on an otherwise miserable afternoon at the ballpark. Having been swept by L.A., the Nationals now have lost eight of 10 overall and have fallen to two games under the .500 mark with 64 to play.

Hitting lowlight: Believe it or not, there was a highlight. Actually, there were two of them: Werth's homers off Kershaw. Otherwise, the Nationals did absolutely nothing at the plate against the Dodgers ace. With everybody healthy again, Davey Johnson tried out Bryce Harper in the leadoff spot, but that failed to jump-start anything. Nobody else recorded a hit in seven innings against Kershaw. On the bright side, the Nationals weren't victims of poor situational hitting this time. After going 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of this series, they only had five such opportunities today. They went 0-for-5.

Pitching lowlight: Never in his career had Zimmermann suffered through an outing like this. Even though he made it through the first inning without surrendering a run, he gave up a pair of singles and a couple more hard-hit balls. By the second inning, the right-hander could barely record an out. Matt Kemp led off with a towering home run in his first at-bat since coming off the DL. A.J. Ellis singled. Mark Ellis doubled. Carl Crawford singled. Nick Punto drew a walk. Hanley Ramirez crushed a three-run homer. Andre Ethier drew a talk. And Kemp doubled home another run, giving him six total bases in one inning. Thus concluded the shortest start of Zimmermann's career and only the third start in which he allowed seven or more runs. Has his lingering neck injury finally become a factor on the field? We'll find out, though it wouldn't be surprising if that proves to be the case, throwing another wrench into the Nationals' pitching plans moving forward.

Key stat: The Nationals have scored 18 total runs in their last 12 losses.

Up next: After getting swept by the red-hot Dodgers, the Nationals face another stiff challenge this week against the contending Pirates. Dan Haren faces right-hander Charlie Morton in Monday's 7:05 p.m. opener of the four-game series.