LOS ANGELES -- From the crack of the bat, there was little doubt that Kyle Tucker had hit one out of the yard. It had been a long time since he had taken a swing like that.
Tucker's solo homer in the sixth inning of the Dodgers' 5-3 series-opening victory over the Nationals on Friday night was his first long ball since Aug. 8 at Chase Field. It had been even longer since he had last hit one out at Dodger Stadium, going all the way back to June 15.
The first season of Tucker's four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers has been a disappointing one. Through Friday's action, the right fielder is hitting .226 with a .686 OPS, both of which are on track to be career-worst marks.
Tucker's struggles have been especially apparent at Dodger Stadium. He entered Friday with a .547 OPS at the ballpark, the lowest such mark among Major Leaguers with at least 250 home plate appearances.
When Tucker took Nationals right-hander Luis Perales deep, it was just his third homer at home this season, and his 12th overall. The solo blast came off his bat at 103.3 mph and traveled a Statcast-projected 377 feet to right field.
Now that the calendar has flipped to September, Tucker is out of time to turn around his season. But he can still use the final month of the regular season to show the Dodgers that he has more in there for the most meaningful games of the year.