Bullpen comes through for Nationals in 4-2 win over Dodgers (updated)

LOS ANGELES - The outcome of this week's series at Dodger Stadium isn't going to have a dramatic effect on the Nationals' season. No matter the result, they're going to head home with a winning record on this long California trip and will be comfortably in first place in the National League East.

There was an understanding, though, heading into tonight's opener that these next three days will serve as something of a measuring stick for a Nationals club that by luck of schedule and division alignment hasn't played too many games against elite competition so far in 2017.

The Dodgers - in addition to being the club that knocked them out of the postseason last October - might well be the best competition the Nationals face for some time. And so tonight's 4-2 victory might carry a little extra weight because of it.

"They did a great job," manager Dusty Baker said. "It's about time we held onto one of those."

Another quality start from Gio Gonzalez and some big hits early from Anthony Rendon, Matt Wieters and Bryce Harper set the stage. But as so often has been the case for this team, victory is not assured unless a much-maligned bullpen can cobble together the final innings.

So consider what happened in the final three frames tonight a significant accomplishment. It began with Enny Romero, who walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the seventh on four pitches but then bounced back to post a zero.

The erratic lefty then returned to the mound for the eighth and after surrendered a leadoff double proceeded to retire three more batters, throwing down a hammer as he hopped off the mound in perhaps his biggest relief appearance of the season.

"I'm proud to throw in a key situation in the game," Romero said. "And to throw a good outing, I'm feeling like I can help the team whenever they need me."

Matt Albers, not Koda Glover - who threw 22 pitches Sunday during a strange appearance in Oakland and informed Baker shortly before tonight's game he was sore and thus unavailable - then opened the ninth, recording two outs before surrendering a double to Cody Bellinger. With the switch-hitting Yasmani Grandal at the plate, Baker turned to Oliver Pérez to get the final out and record his third career save, first since 2013.

"I always have to be prepared," said Pérez, who has pitched in 518 major league games over 15 years. "We don't get the way we really want it. But I think what's more important is to just get it done. Get it done."

Pérez became the sixth different Nationals reliever to record a save through 56 games this season.

"We didn't want to use all of our bullpen," Baker said. "But we would've done whatever possible to try to win that game. The guys performed well."

Early on, the Nats looked baffled by Hyun-Jin Ryu, who retired five straight and struck out Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy in succession, no small task. But Rendon wasn't flummoxed in the least by the Korean lefty, hammering a 3-2 changeup down the left field line and over the fence for a solo homer to get his team on the board.

Rendon figured prominently in the Nationals' next rally two innings later, driving a double off the warning track in right-center and over the wall. Murphy had to hold at third base, but Wieters made sure to complete the rally with a two-out two-run single up the middle that extended the lead to 3-0.

That lead made it to 4-0 in the fifth when Harper, hitless in his previous 15 at-bats, delivered a much-needed two-out RBI single. Harper's mini-slump had stretched back before this California road trip, but he had particularly looked uncomfortable at the plate since last Monday's plunking and brawl in San Francisco.

Handed ample run support, Gonzalez labored a bit early but then found his groove and enjoyed one streak in which he retired 11 consecutive batters, taking advantage of the Dodgers' long-standing struggles against lefties.

Then came trouble in the sixth, which began with a walk, a single and an RBI double. But with his pitch count approaching and then surpassing the 100-mark and Blake Treinen warming in the bullpen, Gonzalez calmly pitched through the inning and limited the damage. The Dodgers wound up with two runs, but Gonzalez wound up with a quality start.

"It was a lot of attacking the strike zone, being aggressive in the strike zone, trying to minimize as many walks as possible," the lefty said. "The one inning they beat me (started with) the walk. After that, I was like: 'We've got to work every hitter now, one hitter at a time, just try to get the outs.' It worked out in our favor."