WASHINGTON -- When the Dodgers signed Tyler Anderson to a one-year deal in March, the left-hander was expected to be insurance for a pitching staff that had a lot of question marks entering the season.\n\nWith Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Heaney on the injured list, the Dodgers have relied on Anderson more heavily than they initially thought. On Monday, the left-hander delivered with his best outing as a Dodger, striking out eight over eight scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 10-1 rout of the last-place Nationals at Nationals Park.\n\n“You have to give credit to Tyler to come into this situation where he was essentially out of the bullpen and buying into what we asked of him if something were to happen,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “And it’s been big because I don’t know where we would be without him.”\n\nAnderson was untouchable through five innings, retiring the first 16 batters he faced before César Hernández broke up his perfect-game bid with a one-out double in the sixth. It was just the second hard-hit ball off Anderson at that point.
Despite not keeping the Nats out of the hit column, the left-hander dominated Washington’s lineup, and did so efficiently. Anderson needed just 60 pitches to get through the first six innings, allowing just two hard-hit balls during that span. He finished his outing with 101 pitches, 77 of them for strikes.\n\n“I was just trying to fill up the strike zone and get ahead,” Anderson said. “Throw strikes and force guys to put the ball in play early.”\n\nAnderson leaned on a fastball and changeup combination that kept Washington off balance. The left-hander threw his changeup 37 times, recording 10 of his 21 swings-and-misses on the pitch. In the eighth, Anderson struck out Hernández and Alcides Escobar with the changeup and Lane Thomas with a four-seamer up in the zone.\n\nIt was an emphatic way to end his best outing with Los Angeles.\n\n“He’s been huge for us,” said Dodgers shortstop
Washington’s only real threat to score off Anderson came in the seventh inning. The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs, but
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