Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 3-2 Loss To Dodgers

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June 21, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Harper’s Home Run Starts The Night

Despite the night ending on a bad note for the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper got the Nats off to a good start in the first inning. With two outs, he took a 2-1 two-seam fastball from Kazmir and hit it the opposite way for a solo home run (his 15^th of the season). It was his second opposite-field home run of the road trip with his other one coming last Thursday at PETCO Park against the San Diego Padres.

Harper tacked on his second hit of the night in the seventh when he hit a two-out single to center against Adam Liberatore. He was one of four players on the team last night that had a multi-hit game (Jayson Werth, Danny Espinosa, and Roark were the other three). Harper and Espinosa had the only RBI’s of the night (both solo home runs).

The West Coast trip hasn’t been kind to the Washington Nationals so far as they have lost four of their six games. But, at the same time, Harper has shown signs that he could be breaking out of his slump despite having a night like he did Monday when he struck out three times against Clayton Kershaw.

Over the course of this West Coast trip, Harper is 8-for-24 with two home runs and five RBI’s and has had three multi-hit games. The offense has helped Harper while he was slumping since that Cubs series in early May. Now, it is time for the reigning NL MVP to help out the struggling offense.

Next: Roark's Great Outing Ruined In 8th