Norris Victimized By Home Runs In Dodgers' Loss To Nationals
WASHINGTON (AP) — Besieged by starting pitching injuries, the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for solid outings from the starters they have left.
Bud Norris gave them a maddeningly inconsistent one Wednesday night in an 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals. Norris (5-8) struck out eight but allowed six earned runs on seven hits, including three home runs, before getting pulled in the sixth inning.
"Five innings, got some strikeouts, but it's tough to win (when) they hit the ball out of the ballpark," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Norris got the start after South Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu was put on the disabled list with elbow tendinitis. The Dodgers are also without three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw because of a herniated disk in his back and won't have lefty Alex Wood for eight weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow.
Unlike many of the Dodgers' other pitchers, Norris is healthy, but he was still victimized on home runs by Bryce Harper, Ben Revere and Jayson Werth. Harper's two-run home run was a 451-foot moonshot into the third deck in right field at Nationals Park in the first inning.
"Harper put a good swing on the ball in the first inning," Norris said as the understatement of the night. Roberts said Norris threw the 3-1 fastball into Harper's "nitro zone."
With the Dodgers scoring only one run on a single by call-up Charlie Culberson in the second off the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez (6-8), Norris didn't have much margin for error. He did strike out Harper and NL batting leader Daniel Murphy before an RBI double by Wilson Ramos ended his night.
But it was back-to-back homers by Revere and Werth in the fifth that Roberts said did the Dodgers in.
"Unfortunately in that fifth inning I thought I made a pitch that could have been really close," Norris said. "I guess I had a mental lapse there."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: Roberts said surgery was "more of a possibility" for Kershaw after a setback with the herniated disk in his back. ... Roberts said All-Star SS Corey Seager could be back in the lineup Thursday after missing two games with a stomach virus. ... RHP Chris Hatcher was placed on the disabled list with an oblique injury.
KENDRICK KEEPS IT ALIVE
With his double in the eighth, Dodgers LF Howie Kendrick extended his hitting streak to 12 games. A fly out left him stranded.
CALL HIM TREY TURNER
Nationals 2B Trea Turner made it back-to-back games with triples when he hit one into the left-field corner in the sixth inning. He then stole home on a botched pickoff attempt, the Nationals' first steal of home since Harper in 2012.
UP NEXT
LHP Julio Urias (1-2, 4.95 ERA) is the next man up for the Dodgers, and he'll face Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (13-0, 2.51 ERA).
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