Nationals 6 10 1

WP- Zimmermann (7-1)

LP- Beckett (0-5)

S- Clippard (6)

It was a tale of two pitchers. Josh Beckett, looking to reinvent himself in Los Angeles, continues to fail miserably as he notched his fifth loss of the season on Monday night. Contrarily, Jordan Zimmerman pitched brilliantly, picking up his seventh win of the season as he shut down the Dodgers at home. Beckett could only make it through three grueling paced innings, and Javy Guerra took over and allowed more runs to the Nats thereafter. The Dodger offense couldn’t do much of anything against Zimmermann, who is shaping up to be one of the best arms in the game. Two Dodger errors, one rare error by Gonzalez and another flailing throw by Guerra, didn’t help the cause. There was a scary moment in the bottom of the fifth when Bryce Harper slammed into the outfield wall knocking himself out. He left the game bleeding, but he was walking on his own back to the dugout.

Josh Beckett remains winless after another disastrous start. Photo: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Denard Span drops a single into right field to open up the top of the first against Josh Beckett. The slow pitching right-hander comes back and strikes out Steve Lombardozzi for the first out of the game. Wonder boy Bryce Harper slaps a single to right field, and the Nats have runners at first and third with one out. Span comes home to score on a groundout by Ryan Zimmerman, and the Nats take an early 1-0 lead. After standing there like a scarecrow for quite a long time, Beckett strikes out Adam LaRoche looking to contain the damage to one run.

The Dodgers come up in the bottom of the first to face one of the best pitchers in the game, Jordan Zimmermann. The right-hander makes quick work of Carl Crawford who strikes out swinging. Dee Gordon attempts to bunt for a hit, but he is easily thrown out at first. Adrian Gonzalez, who is back in the lineup tonight, strokes a single to right field. Matt Kemp grounds into an inning ending force out.

Beckett pitches a nice and relatively quick 1-2-3 inning in the second. He induces two groundouts, and he strikes out Danny Espinosa for his third whiff of the game.

The Dodgers go down in order in the bottom of the second.

The Nationals take advantage of Beckett’s awfulness combined with an error by Adrian Gonzalez in the top of the third. Jordan Zimmerman walks, and Span strikes out swinging. Lambardozzi reaches safely after the ball goes right under Gonzalez’s glove for an error. Beckett walks Harper to load the bases up. Ryan Zimmerman then doubles off the right field wall, and two runs come across home plate. Harper scores the third run of the inning on a groundout by LaRoche. The Dodgers begin to warm Javy Guerra in the bullpen. Washington takes a 4-0 lead. Ian Desmond strikes out swinging to mercifully end the inning.

Nick Punto leads off with a single in the bottom of the third. Luis Cruz, who is pinch-hitting for Beckett, grounds into a double play. Crawford flies out, and the Dodgers can’t do anything

Jordan Zimmermann wins his seventh game after dominating the Dodgers. Photo: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

against Zimmermann.

Javy Guerra is already in for the fourth to relieve the bewildered Beckett. He pitches a nice 1-2-3 inning.

Josh Beckett only made it through 3 innings, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks on 68 pitches.

The Dodgers once again lead-off with a single in the bottom of the fourth, but they still can’t muster any runs. With Gonzo at the plate, Dee Gordon steals his fifth base of the season. Then Dee advances to third on a throwing error by the Nats catcher Kurt Suzuki. Gonzalez pops out, Matt Kemp strikes out, and Ethier grounds out on a good play by LaRoche who robs him of a base hit.

In the fifth, Guerra finally retires Span on a fly ball after 11 pitches. Lombardozzi singles. Harper walks again. Ryan Zimmerman reaches safely after Javy throws the ball into center field on a force attempt. Lombardozzi scores. LaRoche singles in Harper, and the Nats now have a commanding 6-0 lead. Desmond walks to load the bases which prompts a coaching visit to the mound by Rick Honeycutt. Espinosa grounds into a force out, and Suzuki lines out to Ethier to end the frame.

In the bottom of the fifth, there’s a scary moment. A.J. Ellis triples to center field, and Bryce Harper in pursuit face plants into the center field wall. He collapses on to the ground, and he looks like he might have been knocked out for a moment. He gets up under his own power, but he is bleeding from what looks like his neck. He is escorted off the field, and Roger Bernadina comes in to replace Harper. Us Dodger fans can flash back to when Kemp slammed into the Coors Field wall, and we hope that Harper is okay. Ellis scores on a Skip Schumaker ground out, and it’s now 6-1. Punto grounds out, and FedEx strikes out.

May 13, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper (34) lays on the ground after colliding into the scoreboard during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Zimmermann comes up with his second base hit of the night off new Dodger pitcher J.P. Howell, a lead-off single in the top of the sixth. A passed ball by A.J. allows Zimmermann to move over to second. Span lines out to second, and Lombardozzi flies out. Bernadina beats out Howell to first base for an infield single although Howell tried to slide. Howell walks Ryan Zimmerman to load the bases up. Howell strikes out LaRoche to wiggle out of the jam.

Crawford leads off the bottom of the sixth with a ground-rule double over the left field corner wall. Crawford steals third with two outs and Kemp at the plate. Kemp pops out, and CC is stranded at third.

J.P. Howell pitches a scoreless seventh and only allows a single to Suzuki.

Ethier singles to lead-off in the bottom of the seventh. Ellis is thrown out on a diving stop by Desmond to rob him of a hit. Schumaker strikes out swinging. Punto flies out.

Ronald Belisario is in for the eighth. Span leads off with a single, but Beli retires the next three Nats for a scoreless inning.

Crawford singles with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Gordon grounds into a force out. Gonzalez singles to right field. Zimmermann is beginning to tire, and Matt Kemp hits a base hit to left field scoring Gordon. It’s now 6-2. Kemp extends his hitting streak to 12 games. That’s going to be all for Zimmermann, and Tyler Clippard will come out of the Washington bullpen. Ethier flies out to end the inning.

Jordan Zimmerman went 7 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 9 hits with 5 strikeouts and no walks on 101 pitches.

We go to the ninth. Matt Guerrier comes in to pitch for the Dodgers. LaRoche goes down swinging. Desmond singles. Crawford makes a nice catch to retire Espinosa. Suzuki flies out.

Drew Storen is in for the bottom of the ninth to try to close up shop for the Nats. A.J. Ellis goes down on strikes. Schumaker flies out. Scott Van Slyke grounds out to fittingly end the game.

The Dodgers fall to 15-22. The two wins versus the Marlins are now in the rear view mirror as the Dodgers now take on actual competitive teams. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, and the Dodgers will travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves this weekend.

Tomorrow the Dodgers will try to even up the series with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for a 7:10 p.m. game. Dan Haren will start for Washington. Hang in there Dodger fans!

Dodgers Lineup: vs. Nationals

After a disappointing split series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers embark on their final road trip of the 2012 season. The difficult late season trip will include three games in Washington D.C. as they take on the first-place Nationals, three games at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati to take on the first place Reds, and then finally back to Southern California for their final three games against the Padres in San Diego. While the Dodgers are still only one game back of the Cards for that second Wild Card spot and 5 games over .500 overall for the season, the Washington Nationals are a Major League best 32 games over .500. They are cruising to their NL East Division crown and 5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the standings even after the tomahawk choppers swept them in three games this past weekend. The Nationals could possibly clinch their playoff spot during this series with the Dodgers. Even though the Nats have shut down their young ace Stephen Strasburg for the year, their rotation is still arguably the strongest in the league and perhaps in all of baseball. While on the other hand, the Dodgers have indefinitely lost their ace Clayton Kershaw to a hip injury. Clayton had an appointment today in New York to seek a second opinion about a reported tear in his right hip labrum. If Kershaw needs surgery, he could be lost until the middle part of May of next year. We will keep you updated on any reports about Kershaw as we hear them. With that huge blow to the team, it makes us worry not only for the slim hope for a playoff berth this season but also the health of Kershaw for the 2013 season.

Aaron Harang looks for his 10th win of the season, but he’ll have to battle the first place Nats. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Aaron Harang will take the mound at Nationals Park for game one today. Harang has an even .500 record at 9-9, and he will be looking to notch that desired tenth victory for the year in his first season as a Dodgers. Harang hasn’t won a game since August 18th against Atlanta. In his career against the Nats, Harang is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA. Mark DeRosa, Adam LaRoche, and Jayson Werth have all gone deep against the right-hander in the past. In his last outing versus Arizona, Harang took the loss after allowing 3 runs on 4 hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Big Show hasn’t made it past the sixth inning since that game in Atlanta, and he has been averaging about five to six innings per start. Luckily the Dodger bullpen has been very good of late, and we will see the return of Kenley Jansen today as well. Jansen has been on blood thinners, but he has since been okayed to return to the mound after being treated for an irregular heartbeat.

The Nationals will counter with Jordan Zimmermann, a righty as well. Last time out against the Mets, Zimmermann wasn’t involved in the decision

Jordan Zimmermann has been struggling since early August, but had been in line for Cy Yound consideration before his decline. Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

after allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings of work. Zimmermann has only pitched six innings against the Dodgers in his career, and he doesn’t have a record against them with a 9.00 ERA. Hanley Ramirez has had the most at-bats against Jordan, and he is hitting .300 against him. Matt Kemp has hit a homerun against Zimmermann. Zimmerman has had some struggles in the last month or so, and in his last seven starts he is 2-2 with a 5.06 ERA. He cited that his fastball location was an issue for him in his last start, and that if he is unable to throw it for a strike right away then he usually has trouble from the get go. We will be watching for his fastball location in the first inning today.

There hasn’t been a player more polarizing this season than the teenage rookie Bryce Harper. Photo: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Remember, the last time we played the Nationals was back in September when we swept the three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Bryce Harper, the young controversial phenom rookie, made his debut during the series. Since then Harper has made waves in the baseball world. Whether you love him or hate him, he always gets fans talking which is a good thing for the game. The Dodgers will have to be on the lookout for his sneaky and often rebellious ways. The 19-year old has hit 19 homeruns for the year, and he now has the second most homeruns in a season for a teenager in the Major Leagues behind Tony Conigliaro who hit 24 homeruns for the Boston Red Sox as a 19-year-old rookie  back in 1964.

The game will begin at 4:05 pm, and it will be televised on KCAL. Check back here for our detailed recap and analysis as we continue to document the entire 2012 Dodger season.