Irvin roughed up in rematch, Nats throttled by Dodgers (updated)

Funny how quickly the narrative of a baseball season can twist and turn. Not 48 hours ago, the Nationals were flying high, having won three of their last four series, including back-to-back triumphs over the Dodgers and Astros. They were getting excellent starting pitching and coming through with clutch hits, offering fans real reason for late-April optimism.

Since then? They’ve lost two straight to the Dodgers behind poor starting pitching and at times a complete lack of offense. They also lost their starting right fielder to a knee injury that, while not as bad as it could’ve been, nonetheless will sideline him for some time.

Suffice it to say, the vibe surrounding the Nats isn’t quite what it was a few days ago.

Tonight’s 11-2 thumping at the hands of the Dodgers represented a new low. With Jake Irvin in trouble from the get-go, the home team faced an uphill climb. And with Lane Thomas now on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee ligament, an already inconsistent lineup had little chance of keeping up with the opposition.

"The best thing about today," manager Davey Martinez said, "is we have tomorrow to go 1-0."

In a rematch of last week’s uplifting 2-0 victory at Dodger Stadium, Irvin suffered a reversal of fortunes while Landon Knack again got better as his start progressed and gave his team a chance.

How did Irvin overwhelm the same Dodgers lineup seven days ago on the West Coast? By pounding the strike zone and getting quick outs. A whopping 54 of his 73 pitches that afternoon were strikes, allowing the right-hander to consistently pitch ahead.

How did the results flip-flop in tonight’s rematch? With a complete reversal by Irvin, who kept falling behind in the count, allowing L.A.’s hitters to dig in and take some big hacks in favorable counts.

Irvin’s misses were far more pronounced this time around, especially his fastball, which he kept pulling to the glove side (away from right-handed hitters). The Dodgers rarely had reason to think about swinging at them.

"Going out there and facing a lineup like that, it makes it a heck of a lot harder when you're not getting ahead and putting yourself in good positions to pitch in good counts," he said.

And when he did leave a pitch over the plate, it was hit hard. Shohei Ohtani got things started with a 115-mph laser of a double in the top of the first, scoring a few moments later on Will Smith’s RBI single up the middle. Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single in the second, and just like that the Nationals trailed 3-0.

"Facing guys that are that polished, that good, you definitely put yourself in a hole if you get behind and try to be too perfect," Irvin said. "It's a good learning experience for me, but I definitely need to be on the offensive a lot more than that."

The Nationals did get right back into the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second scored in vastly different fashion. Nick Senzel homered into the wind to left-center to get them on the board. Then patience from Trey Lipscomb, CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker and Joey Meneses against Knack produced four straight walks or hit batters, the last of which - with Meneses at the plate - forced in a run.

But with a chance to put together a big inning, Luis García Jr. swung at the first pitch he saw from Knack following that sequence and grounded out to second to end the inning with the Nats still trailing 3-2.

That would be their last chance to do anything against Knack tonight. Their last baserunner against the rookie Dodgers starter, for that matter, because he finished his outing by retiring 13 consecutive batters, making that missed opportunity in the second inning loom even larger. The Nationals were just as helpless against the L.A. bullpen; they finished the night 0 for their last 22, with nobody reaching base after the Meneses bases-loaded walk in the second.

"We got in swing mode," Martinez said. "We didn't work good counts. The last couple days, we struggled - period - with our offense. We had a chance to knock in some runs early. We just couldn't do it. ... We're taking the good pitches, and it seems like we're chasing the bad ones. Today, we chased a lot."

And if they were hoping for Irvin to keep the deficit at one run, they were sorely disappointed. The right-hander never did find a groove, allowing a run in the top of the third on three straight hits, then two more in the top of the fifth, his night ending on a two-run single through the right side by Gavin Lux.

So one week after the Dodgers went 4-for-21 in six scoreless innings against Irvin, they went 12-for-25 against him while scoring six runs in only 4 2/3 innings.

"I think it escaped me a couple times today where I tried to do too much, tried to be too fine," he said. "I've talked to you guys a lot about competing over the zone. I think you let that get away a little bit when you face a team, especially like that, twice in a row. Kicking myself a little over the mindset, but that's something you learn from and move forward."

The Dodgers kept up the onslaught against a weary Nationals bullpen, most notably Tanner Rainey (who gave up two tack-on runs in the eighth via a homer-double-double sequence) and Matt Barnes (who gave up three more runs in the ninth), putting a final stamp on a ragged night at the ballpark.