AnÃbal Sánchez fought through a tumultuous first inning and then shut down the Dodgers.
Despite allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base, Sánchez bore down and got out of the inning with only one run crossing the plate.
He ended up finishing seven innings, retiring the final 20 batters he faced. The Dodgers enjoyed all three of their base hits in the first frame. After Cody Bellinger's RBI single gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, they did not threaten again against the Nats right-hander. Sánchez walked one and struck out six.
The start was another example of how well Sánchez has pitched for the past two months. He now has a 2.58 ERA since returning from the injured list.
"I don't know, the first inning was a rough inning," Sánchez said. "I wasn't wild early, but after that, when I got runners on base, my ball I couldn't put in the top of the zone. Everything is on the bottom and ... I had a really hard time to put the ball on the strike zone. But after that, I know what I did wrong in the first inning and I just tried to put a really good execute pitch every time."
And from the second through the seventh frames, the Dodgers went down 1-2-3. Sánchez struck out a batter in every inning except the second.
"Awesome. He was really, really good," said Nationals manager Davey Martinez. "He gave us seven innings. But we had to pinch-hit for him in that situation, down a run. He was great."
Sánchez has allowed one earned run or fewer in six of his last 10 starts since returning to the Nats on May 29 following a hamstring injury. He has allowed four hits or fewer in four of those 10 starts, including Friday night.
Sánchez was pumped up to allow just one run after facing seven batters and having to throw 31 pitches in that first frame. The game could have easily gotten away from him in the first, but he did not allow it. One key play was a dribbler in front of home plate by A.J. Pollock. Sánchez did not have much time to make the play. He charged off the mound and flipped the ball to Kurt Suzuki for the force out at home plate. It was a huge second out in the inning. Seager's grounder to Howie Kendrick ended the first.
"Amazing," Sánchez said of his emotions after that first inning. "After that I say 'OK, that's the only thing that they are going to do against me.' I just need to execute every pitch that I throw because I know I faced [seven] hitters in the first inning. I know right away the leadoff is going to come back (around). I need to just execute my pitch and keep everything involved after that."
A late three-run shot in the eighth inning by Justin Turner off Kyle Barraclough decided it, the Dodgers won the first game of the series, 4-2. But Sánchez had done his job, giving the Nats ample opportunity to win the game.
"Of course, when you got those hot teams coming in town or visit those hot teams, you have to play baseball," Sánchez said of facing the now 68-37 Dodgers. "They are on the top for a reason. They are good hitters. They got really good stuff. As soon as you let those teams get a big rally against you, there's nothing you can do after that."