Behind Finnegan's gutsy save, Nats hang on to beat Dodgers (updated)

What did the Nationals need to do to defeat the defending World Series champs tonight and extend their own winning streak to three games?

They needed six strong innings from MacKenzie Gore. They needed early offense to take a lead. They needed late offense to provide some cushion for a thin bullpen. They needed that thin bullpen to get the job done on a night when most of the big names weren’t available.

Oh, and they also needed to hold down the Dodgers’ vaunted lineup enough to make sure Shohei Ohtani’s otherworldly exploits wouldn’t cost them.

And wouldn’t you know, they pulled it off, combining all of those elements during a 6-4 victory that stands as their best of the young season.

"That felt like a playoff game," said closer Kyle Finnegan, who was right in the middle of it all at the end. "To play against a team like the Dodgers, their resume speaks for itself. To play with them and compete all the way to the last out, it says a lot of things about our team and our grit. We can play with anybody in the league."

On a night in which Ohtani singled, tripled and homered, it was Lucas Sims’ eighth-inning strikeout of the two-way superstar that stood out. And then it was Finnegan’s five-out save, coming in his third straight appearance, that ultimately stole the show.

The Nationals gave their bullpen a 6-2 lead, thanks to three big insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, including James Wood’s two-run homer off lefty Anthony Banda. Bumped up to the leadoff spot for the first time this season, Wood reached base three times, stole a base and provided the necessary big blow late.

"The bullpen's been working hard; they've been doing a good job," Wood said. "Just trying to give them any extra run, I think, was big in that situation."

As much offense as possible was needed, because in winning the previous two days against the Diamondbacks, Davey Martinez had used Finnegan, Jose A. Ferrer and Jorge López twice a piece. Ferrer had also pitched the day before that, making him completely unavailable tonight.

So it was Eduardo Salazar pitching the seventh inning (and recording three quick outs on nine pitches). Then it was Sims starting the eighth, freezing Ohtani with a 3-2 sweeper up in the zone but giving up back-to-back hits after that to allow one run to score and forcing Martinez to make the move he probably never wanted to have to make.

"We had a chance to win the game," the manager explained, later adding. "That's the reason why he's here. He closes games for us. He did that today, and he did it really well."

So, in came Finnegan to get out of an eighth-inning jam for the first time this season. After already recording a 13-pitch save Saturday and a 23-pitch save Sunday. He managed to retire two of three batters faced, with one inherited runner scoring, leaving the lead at 6-4 before coming back out for the ninth.

"There's times throughout the season where your workload ebbs and flows," the closer said. "This was one of those times where your teammates need you, maybe more than other times. That's something I take pride in as a pitcher. I feel like I owe it to my teammates to be available as much as I possibly can when I'm feeling able. Today was no different."

Finnegan immediately got into trouble in the ninth, giving up a leadoff double to Max Muncy. He bounced back to retire pinch-hitter Hunter Feduccia and strike out Michael Conforto on three fastballs. That brought up Ohtani, the crowd rising to see what would happen, only to be disappointed when Finnegan walked him on six consecutive splitters, putting the game instead in Mookie Betts' hands.

And Finnegan calmly got the star shortstop to ground out to second, ending the game and wrapping up a 32-pitch save, one of the gutsiest of his career.

"It was one of those things where you beat someone with conviction, maybe," said Finnegan, who admitted he didn't locate that final pitch where he wanted it. "I put everything I had into that pitch, and maybe it moved enough to get that ground ball."

Martinez felt it was worth going all-in to try to win this game, knowing he'll be asking rookie Brad Lord to make his first career start Tuesday night. The right-hander, who has made three relief appearances so far, should be good for 45-50 pitches, with Jackson Rutledge likely to follow him and whatever other relievers are available.

"We're going to go one inning at a time," Martinez said with a laugh. "He's a go-getter. He just wants to go. We'll see how he does."

On a cloudy, breezy, 45-degree Monday evening that felt more like October than April, Gore took the mound and prepared to face the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, by far the most popular man in the building. Every move Ohtani made, every mention of his name was met with cheers from fans and eyeballs from the throng of reporters who follow him everywhere he goes.

Ohtani gave them what they wanted. He ripped a sharp single off Luis García Jr. to open the game. He launched his two-run homer to right in the third. And then he nearly went deep again in the fifth, ultimately settling for a triple that rattled off the center field wall, just beyond Dylan Crews’ leaping attempt.

And yet, the greatest baseball player in the world couldn’t do it all for the Dodgers, who otherwise struggled to figure out the Nationals starter.

Gore allowed only two other hits all night, issuing one walk. He struck out seven, most of those coming on sharp breaking balls.

"I thought we pitched really well tonight," he said, "other than the three pitches right down the middle to Shohei."

He also got some help from his defense. Paul DeJong, filling in at shortstop with CJ Abrams getting his first day off due to a tight thigh, made several nice plays, one of them to rob Miguel Rojas of a sure hit in the fifth. Alex Call, making his third straight start in right field, made an all-or-nothing diving catch of Muncy’s sinking liner in the third.

Because of all that, Gore was able to keep things efficient, allowing the lefty to go deep in the game on a night when his team really needed it. He departed after six innings of two-run ball, having thrown an even 100 pitches.

"He knew coming into the game what we were up against," Martinez said of his ace. "After the fifth inning, he came up to me right away and said: 'I got you. I can get through the sixth inning.'"

And he departed with a 3-2 lead, thanks to some early support from his lineup. Though probably not as much as that group could have provided.

The Nationals scored all three runs in the first three innings, getting an RBI single (that was later changed to a fielder’s choice and an error on Betts) from Crews, who then scored on Rojas’ fielding error moments later. They also got an RBI single from Nathaniel Lowe, continuing his hot start.

All told, the Nats took 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the first three innings alone. And managed only one official hit (Lowe’s single). They also had two runners thrown out at third base: Josh Bell on José Tena’s poor sacrifice bunt attempt, then Tena himself a little while later on the Crews hit-turned-error.

And for good measure, they had another runner thrown out at the plate in the seventh. All of it adding more pressure to their thin bullpen to somehow find a way to close this game out.

"It's a gutsy win by everybody," Gore said. "We made plays. Great at-bats. And we just kind of got through every inning and made enough pitches. It was a great win."