Jake Irvin tosses 6 scoreless innings vs. Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — The Nationals have a cavalcade of young standouts who the club is hoping will lead them through their rebuild and back to playoff contention.

Increasingly, Jake Irvin is showing he merits inclusion in that group.

Irvin pitched six scoreless innings to shut down the fearsome Dodgers lineup and lift the Nationals to a 2-0 victory at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Behind Irvin, the Nationals claimed the series and finished their nine-game road trip with a 5-4 record. It was the first time the Dodgers have been shut out this season.

The 27-year-old right-hander limited the Dodgers to four hits, walked one and struck out six. He needed just 73 pitches to maneuver through the loaded Dodgers lineup and allowed a runner past second base just twice. It was Irvin’s second straight excellent start after he held Oakland to one hit and one run over six innings on Friday.

The Nationals gave Irvin all the run support he needed in the first inning. CJ Abrams led off with a home run on the second pitch of the game to give the Nationals an immediate lead. Jesse Winker and Luis García Jr. added hard singles before Joey Meneses lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 2-0 Nationals just five batters into the game.

Irvin took it from there. With an array of 94-97 mph fastballs and well-timed curveballs, sinkers and cutters, he worked quickly through the Dodgers’ order and prevented them from ever staging a serious threat. He worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the first and never again allowed the Dodgers to string together multiple baserunners in an inning.