Mookie Betts Powers Dodgers’ Comeback as LA Completes Sweep of Nationals
For a Dodgers team that spent much of July and August searching for momentum, Sunday night felt like another sign that something may finally be changing.
Los Angeles fell behind by three runs, erased the deficit, fell behind again and then produced its biggest swing when it mattered most.
Mookie Betts launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, sending the Dodgers to a 7-5 comeback victory over the Washington Nationals and completing a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.
The win was the Dodgers’ fourth straight after they had previously lost six of eight. It also completed a perfect 6-0 season series against Washington and improved Los Angeles to 86-57.
But Betts’ home run was only half of the eighth-inning story.
Before he could give the Dodgers the lead, Kyle Tucker may have saved the game.
Tucker Robs a Homer Before Betts Changes the Game
Washington entered the eighth leading 5-4.
Harry Ford opened the inning against Bobby Miller and drove a ball deep toward the right-field wall. It appeared headed out — or at minimum destined to add an important insurance run.
Tucker had other plans.
The Dodgers right fielder tracked the ball to the wall, timed his jump and made a leaping catch to take away what likely would have been a home run.
Statcast estimated that the wind pushed Ford’s fly ball seven feet inward and 11 feet to the right, but Tucker still had to finish the play. Dave Roberts later called it a potentially game-changing catch.
Miller then finished a scoreless eighth, keeping the Dodgers within one.
A few minutes later, the entire game flipped.
Alex Freeland and Max Muncy were retired to begin the bottom half, leaving Los Angeles with two outs and nobody aboard.
Alex Call kept the inning alive with a single.
Tommy Edman followed with a walk.
That brought Betts to the plate against Nationals left-hander Will Dion.
Dion left a 1-0 fastball over the plate.
Betts crushed it into the left-field pavilion.
Three-run homer. Dodgers 7, Nationals 5.
It was Betts’ 18th home run of the season and gave him four RBIs on the night after he had driven in the Dodgers’ first run with a groundout in the third.
Betts Continues His Recent Resurgence
The home run was another encouraging sign from a player who looks increasingly different from the version of Betts who struggled earlier in the season.
Since Aug. 5, Betts is hitting .307 with a .378 on-base percentage and .509 slugging percentage, according to MLB. Six of his 15 go-ahead hits this season have come during that stretch.
After the win, Betts emphasized that the Dodgers cannot simply rely on suddenly “flipping a switch.”
Instead, he wants the way they have played recently to become their identity.
That may be the more important takeaway from the weekend.
The Dodgers did not dominate Washington from beginning to end.
They had to respond.
They had to come from behind.
And for the second consecutive night, they found a late swing capable of turning a loss into a win.
Wrobleski Cruises Early, Then Fourth Inning Unravels
The game initially belonged to Justin Wrobleski.
Making his first start in three weeks after recently returning from the injured list and moving into a relief role, Wrobleski struck out six Nationals through the first three innings.
The fourth was completely different.
C.J. Abrams opened the inning with his 30th home run, tying the game 1-1.
Brady House and Daylen Lile followed with singles before Ford drove a two-run double into left field.
Jacob Young then singled home another run.
In the span of five consecutive Washington hits, a 1-0 Dodgers lead became a 4-1 deficit.
Wrobleski was removed without recording an out in the fourth.
He finished with eight hits and four runs allowed over three-plus innings, although his six strikeouts during the first three innings illustrated how dramatically the outing changed in one frame.
Brock Stewart entered and prevented Washington from extending the lead.
That became important because the Dodgers immediately began working their way back.
Dodgers Answer With Three-Run Fifth
Los Angeles entered the fifth trailing 4-1.
Max Muncy, who returned to the lineup after dealing with an illness, helped ignite the comeback.
Muncy finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, one of his better offensive performances of the recent stretch.
Tommy Edman doubled home a run to make it 4-2.
Will Smith followed with an RBI single.
Then Teoscar Hernández beat out an infield single that brought home another run and tied the game 4-4.
It was another productive moment for Hernández, who continues to show signs of turning things around after his walk-off double against St. Louis earlier in the homestand.
The more important team development was that Los Angeles was once again responding after falling behind.
Washington had delivered a four-run punch.
The Dodgers answered an inning later.
Bobby Miller Returns to the Major Leagues
Sunday also marked the 2026 Major League debut of Bobby Miller.
The right-hander had spent most of the season dealing with right shoulder soreness and had not appeared in a Major League game since May 2025.
His return started shakily.
Daylen Lile opened the sixth with a triple.
Miller then issued a walk and eventually loaded the bases. With rain falling heavily, a curveball got away from him and hit Dylan Crews, forcing home the go-ahead run.
Washington was back in front 5-4.
But Miller settled down dramatically after that.
He retired his final six hitters in order across the seventh and eighth innings, with Tucker’s home-run robbery providing the biggest defensive assist.
Miller worked three innings and allowed only the one run, ultimately earning the victory when Betts put the Dodgers ahead in the eighth. It was his first Major League winning decision since Aug. 29, 2024.
Roberts praised Miller afterward for continuing to fight through what has been a difficult road back.
Even if Miller does not have an obvious postseason role right now, giving the Dodgers three innings on Sunday while several relievers were being protected was valuable on its own.
Bullpen Holds Washington Down
The bullpen deserves considerable credit for making the comeback possible.
After Wrobleski gave up four runs, Dodgers relievers allowed only one additional run the rest of the night.
Stewart escaped the fourth.
Blake Treinen worked in relief as he continues settling back into the bullpen following his recent return from the 60-day injured list.
Miller covered three innings.
Then Edgardo Henriquez handled the ninth.
Henriquez walked James Wood to open the inning but did not allow the situation to unravel. He struck out Dylan Crews, retired Abimelec Ortiz on a fly ball and struck out Abrams to finish the game.
It was Henriquez’s second save of the season.
With the Dodgers still evaluating what their October bullpen should look like, those innings matter.
Dodgers Sweep Without Ohtani in the Lineup
Perhaps one of the more encouraging aspects of the weekend was that Los Angeles completed the sweep without Shohei Ohtani appearing in the starting lineup.
Ohtani missed his fourth consecutive game Sunday while recovering from the physical issues that had recently affected his right biceps and left knee.
There was a moment in the eighth when it appeared he might pinch-hit.
Roberts had Ohtani prepared to bat for Call if either Freeland or Muncy reached base to start the inning.
Both were retired, so Roberts stayed with Call against the left-hander.
That decision worked perfectly.
Call singled.
Edman walked.
Betts homered.
Roberts said after the game that, barring a change in how Ohtani feels, he expects the superstar back in the lineup Monday against Cincinnati.
A Very Different End to the Homestand’s First Two Series
Less than a week ago, the mood around the Dodgers was considerably different.
They opened September by losing the first two games against St. Louis.
The offense continued wasting opportunities.
Ohtani did not look right.
The Cardinals appeared poised to sweep them at home.
Then Teoscar Hernández delivered his walk-off double Thursday.
Los Angeles has not lost since.
They beat Washington 5-3 on Friday.
They came from behind for a 6-5 victory Saturday.
And they rallied again Sunday to complete the sweep.
Four straight wins do not erase everything that went wrong during the previous two months.
But momentum can change quickly in baseball.
Right now, the Dodgers are producing the kind of late-game moments that were often missing during their roughest stretches.
Dodgers Go 6-0 Against Washington in 2026
The sweep also completed total dominance of the Nationals this season.
Los Angeles won all six games against Washington in 2026.
Sunday's win was particularly satisfying because it required so many different contributions.
Muncy had three hits.
Edman drove in a run and scored twice.
Smith and Hernández delivered RBI singles.
Miller provided three innings in his return.
Tucker made the defensive play of the night.
Henriquez closed it.
And Betts provided the swing everyone will remember.
The Dodgers ended Sunday at 86-57, riding a four-game winning streak and sitting 1½ games behind Milwaukee for the National League’s best record.
After months of waiting for this roster to begin looking like the team everyone expected, there are finally signs of life.
Sunday may have provided the clearest example yet.
Washington had the lead.
The Dodgers took it back.
And with one spectacular catch from Tucker followed by one massive swing from Betts, Los Angeles finished the weekend with exactly what it needed:
a sweep.