LOS ANGELES — Joe Ross didn’t stick around long after making a couple of mistakes while pitching to Yasiel Puig.
The rookie, who was coming off yet another strong start, struggled in the Washington Nationals’ 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
Ross (3-4) gave up five runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked four batters, equaling the number of batters he had walked in the first 45 innings of his career.
“I just seemed a little bit off,” he said. “My slider wasn’t quite as sharp in terms of being able to locate it. It was just kind of an off night.”
Puig drove in a career high-tying five runs with a home run and a triple, and Zack Greinke pitched six sharp innings to help the Dodgers snap a season-worst four-game skid.
Greinke (12-2) allowed six hits, struck out six and walked four to remain unbeaten in his last 10 starts, going 7-0 in that span. He lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.65.
PHOTOS: Joe Ross chased early in Nationals' 5-0 loss to Dodgers
Puig hit a home run into the left-field pavilion in the fourth to score Andre Ethier, whose leadoff triple stood up after the Dodgers challenged the call. Replays showed third baseman Yunel Escobar didn’t tag Ethier’s leg before he reached the bag.
“It was the right pitch to throw. I just hung it over the middle,” Ross said. “I just wanted to stay aggressive with him and not try to get that first-pitch strike by laying it in there.”
Puig struggled Monday in the Dodgers’ 8-3 loss in the series opener, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In his first at-bat against Ross, he flied out to center with two runners on in the second.
Puig extended the lead to 5-0 in the fifth with a bases-loaded triple that right fielder Clint Robinson misplayed. It scored Jimmy Rollins and Alberto Callaspo, who reached on singles, and Yasmani Grandal, who walked.
“I tried to slide for it and make the catch, and I just couldn’t get there,” Robinson said. “With two outs right there, I’m not going to go in there and just lay up and let them score another run. I just didn’t have the speed to get there.”
It was Puig’s second five-RBI game, equaling his performance on June 14, 2013, in his second major league game.
Greinke bounced back from a struggle in his last start at Philadelphia, where he allowed five runs before retiring a batter but eventually earned the victory.
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was held out of the lineup with a sore left knee. He hurt it while making a sliding catch Monday and it swelled up overnight, limiting his mobility.
Ryan Zimmerman’s RBI streak ended at eight games. It was the second-longest in team history since 2005.
Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (8-7, 3.44 ERA) will oppose Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. Zimmermann, who was 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 2013 and 2014 at Dodger Stadium, never allowed more than two earned runs and pitched into at least the seventh inning every time.
Kershaw (9-6, 2.51 ERA) had his 37-inning scoreless streak snapped in the first inning of his last start against Pittsburgh. He is 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 12 career games against the Nationals.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.