What was slated to be a pitchers duel between two of the best young arms in the National League developed quickly into a one-sided disaster on Sunday.
It was just another day at the office for Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw, while Jordan Zimmermann turned in the worst start of his major league career. Zimmermann lasted just two innings for the first time in his five MLB seasons, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks.
The Dodgers completed the sweep in their 9-2 victory, sending the Nats to an unfortunate start to the season’s second half. Even in relative good health and with a new-look lineup, the Nats still couldn’t move the needle on offense. They have now scored two runs or less in 11 of their last 12 losses.
“The bottom line is all of us, myself included, haven’t been producing like we should,” Ryan Zimmerman said. “There’s nobody to blame besides us, no coaches or anything like that.”
With Kershaw on the mound, the Nats went with a bit of a different lineup in hopes to break their recent scoring slump. Bryce Harper played center field and batted leadoff for just the second time in his career, and Scott Hairston started in left. Kershaw, however, saw no trouble with the Nationals for the most part.
