Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, and Corey Seager All Homer as Dodgers Dominate Nationals, 7-0

Not a bad opening act.

Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, and Corey Seager all homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the Washington Nationals, 7-0, in a potential playoff preview on Friday night at Nationals Park.

It was the first of three against the Nationals in the Nation's capital in a rematch of the 2016 National League Division Series.

Both teams have been dominant this season and it's likely they could meet again in the postseason in the National League Championship Series provided both teams defeat their first round opponents. 

The Dodgers jumped all over Washington starter, Edwin Jackson, as Turner gave the Boys in Blue the early lead with a solo shot to left field in the first inning.

.@redturn2 gets @Dodgers off to a fast start in a battle of 2017 #postseason clubs. pic.twitter.com/ULGtBsEoeV— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2017

The long ball was Turner's 20^th of the season, but his only hit of the night as his batting average dropped to .325 on the season, one point behind Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper (.326) for second in the National League.

"I feel like we're back on track," Turner told the media after the game. "We tried to get some runs early to give our guys a little bit of breathing room. Hopefully, we can keep on doing that." 

The Dodgers broke the game open in the second inning as they scored five runs on the Nationals behind home runs by Puig and Seager.

Puig led off the inning with a solo shot to center field to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Colando café desde temprano, palazo de @YasielPuig. ����☕️��
¡Buena esa, asere!#MLBCuba #ColadaPower pic.twitter.com/SCxb1r1Xkd— MLB Cuba (@mlbcuba) September 15, 2017

One year removed from being sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Puig has had a fantastic season with 26 home runs, 68 RBI and an OPS of .832 while batting at the back of the order.

"I haven't been swinging at bad pitches," Puig said of his rebound season. "I want to have the best year of my career and I want to be the best person and the best athlete I can be."

Three batters removed from Puig's homer, Andre Ethier hit one of the more unusual ground rule doubles you'll ever see as right fielder Jayson Werth pretended to be standing under a routine fly ball only to have the ball drop about 20-feet behind him on the warning track and over the wall for a double.

Ethier RBI Ground Rule Double pic.twitter.com/9ZPFwdm0pY— Dodgers (@DodgersVideos) September 15, 2017

Following the gaffe, Seager sent a 95 MPH first-pitch fastball from Jackson over the center field wall for a three-run home run that gave the Dodgers a 6-0 lead.

"I was just looking for something over the plate," said Seager after the game. "Fortunately enough, I got it and put a good swing on it. We got some runs early and Woody [Alex Wood[ was impressive."

Seager 3-Run Blast pic.twitter.com/nA86c5U4r2— Dodgers (@DodgersVideos) September 15, 2017

The home run was also Seager's 20^th of the season, giving the Dodgers four different players with 20 or more home runs on the year.

"When we're right, it's a tough lineup to navigate through," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said of having four players with 20+ homers this season and two more with 19. "If you miss out over the plate we can slug you. That's when we're right. It was good to see tonight."

Jackson (5-6) allowed seven runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in just 2 and 1/3 innings.

"I like the way that Justin got us off on the right foot. Yasiel's homer was big and then we got the big three-run blow from Corey," finished Roberts. "Up and down the lineup we were good and it was very good to see."

Alex Wood (15-3) looked like his All-Star self again as he allowed just three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in six shutout innings.

"Overall my stuff and the command was really good," Wood told reporters of his outing. "I'm pretty close. Still a little bit left to go, tonight was a good stepping stone."

His manager agreed.

"When you strike out Daniel Murphy three times you know you're doing something right," said Roberts on Wood's outing. "This was very encouraging."

Magic Number to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West title is seven. 

Up Next:

Another potential postseason starter takes the mound on Saturday morning as Rich Hill pitches opposite RHP A.J. Cole for the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 AM PST.