After struggling mightily on offense in their last series and really in the last four-plus games of the homestand, the Dodgers were understandably confident that their star-studded lineup would get things going. Facing Miles Mikolas helped, as the Dodgers torched the right-hander for four home runs in a 13-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday afternoon in Washington D.C.
During the homestand, the Dodgers only scored nine total runs in the first five innings during the six games. They put
an 11-spot in 4 1/3 innings against Mikolas on Friday, thanks to the long ball.
Shohei Ohtani’s first extra-base hit of the season was a three-run shot in the third inning. Then Mookie Betts followed with a two-run homer in the same inning, and Andy Pages continued his scorching start with a two-run shot in the fourth.
Freddie Freeman added a two-run shot in the fifth inning, which Mikolas did not complete.
Mikolas is the first pitcher to allow 11 runs in a game to the Dodgers since Alec Bettinger of the Milwaukee Brewers did so on May 2, 2021. In his career, Mikolas has a 7.80 ERA in 45 innings against the Dodgers, fueling a 1-6 record.
During spring training in 2024, Mikolas, then with the St. Louis Cardinals, said, “We’re not exactly a low payroll team, but you got the Dodgers playing checkbook baseball. We’re going to be the hardest working group of Midwestern farmers we can be.”
In four starts against Los Angeles since those words, the Dodgers have cashed in off the veteran right-hander, scoring 25 runs in 17 1/3 innings, with 11 home runs off him.
“We had an inkling they were ready to erupt, and we also had an inkling with Mikolas on the mound,” Orel Hershiser said of the Dodgers offense during the SportsNet LA telecast.
Getting some length
The Dodgers gave Emmet Sheehan a lot of run support, but he was working out of a hole for a bit as his team didn’t score until the third inning.
Sheehan had a rough opening frame. He gave up rockets to James Wood and CJ Abrams, the former on the first pitch of the game just off the edge of Andy Pages’ glove in center, and the latter a home run to right field. It was a three-run shot because, in between, Sheehan issued a five-pitch walk to Brady House, who walked once every 34 plate appearances as a rookie last season.
Of concern for Sheehan in his first start was a lack of command, as he needed 83 pitches to get 10 outs. He rebounded Friday after that first inning to pitch into the sixth, getting 17 outs on 98 pitches, and allowed only one more run, though with more walks (three) than strikeouts (two).
Sheehan, who averaged 95.6 mph on his four-seam fastball hasn’t yet hit that in either of his starts, averaging 94 mph last Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and 93.8 mph against Washington. He also saw his velocity drop as the game progressed in his first start. The drop wasn’t as stark on Friday, with his sixth-inning average the same as the first, but that pitch is lacking the juice it had in 2025.
“We’re still digging into that,” manager Dave Roberts said last Friday after Sheehan’s first start of the season. “Our staff has talked to Emmet, and he says he feels good and feels strong. He works as hard as everybody. It’s probably something mechanical, but physical, the player’s got to let us know a little bit, too, and we haven’t heard anything about that part.”
Notes
- Thirteen runs in nine innings on Friday for the Dodgers were two more than they scored in the final 40 innings of the homestand.
- Kyle Tucker’s first home run of the season, off left-hander Ken Waldichuk in the seventh inning, gave the Dodgers a season-high five home runs. That matches the 2025 season high as well, done twice (May 15 vs. Athletics and May 31 vs. New York Yankees).
- Alex Call got into his first game of 2026, playing the final four innings in left field, giving Teoscar Hernández a breather after a three-hit day. Call walked and scored in his only plate appearance. Roberts told reporters in Washington earlier Friday that Call would start Sunday, when the Nationals will start left-hander Foster Griffin on the mound.
Friday particulars
Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (1), Mookie Betts (2), Andy Pages (2), Freddie Freeman (2), Kyle Tucker (1); CJ Abrams (2)
WP — Emmet Sheehan (1-0): 5 2/3 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
LP — Miles Mikolas (0-2): 4 1/3 IP, 11 hits, 11 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Up next
The two teams are back at it again with a slightly later start time on Saturday (4:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tyler Glasnow makes his second start, with right-hander Jake Irvin pitching for the Nationals.
