Tyler Anderson tosses eight shutout innings as Dodgers rout Nationals
Through five innings, the veteran left-hander was perfect, using his herky-jerky delivery and changeup-heavy arsenal to mow through a rebuilding Nationals lineup that, aside from slugger Juan Soto, failed to instill much fear.
But even without a flawless statistical line, Anderson still produced his best start of the season, stranding each baserunner who reached against him to pitch eight scoreless innings for only the third time in his career.Trea Turner, the Dodgers’ slickest baserunner, explains how he developed the smoothest and coolest slide in baseball.
For the first five innings, the 32-year-old cruised. He struck out five . He didn’t give up one hard-hit ball or walk a batter . And he retired the first 15 Nationals on just 50 pitches, getting ahead with his fastball before getting outs with his changeup. At that point, Anderson said he wasn’t focused on his perfect game — “That’s pretty early,” he said, adding, “If I was really concerned, you probably don’t throw a fastball in that 3-and-1 count” — or worried about the weather.
Before the game, Turner and Daniel Hudson, another member of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series team who was making his first return to D.C. since also being traded last year, were greeted with a pregame tribute video.“When you look back and think about what you’ve been through and where you come from, it’s definitely special,” said Turner, who had a group of family members in attendance. “I’m not out here crying. I don’t feel emotional about it.