Dodgers build big lead early in 8-4 win over Nationals

Because these are the 2016 Dodgers, a team beset by injuries at every turn, an 8-4 victory over the Washington Nationals would not be complete without a scare. Which is why Scott Kazmir retired to the clubhouse after the fifth inning to gulp down pickle juice, swallow a nutrition bar packed with electrolytes and squirt a bottle of spicy mustard into his mouth.

All to combat a case of cramping in both his calf muscles.

Kazmir diced up the Nationals across seven innings of one-run baseball. He was less precise with the mustard. When he returned to the dugout, Justin Turner spotted a splotch on his cheek.

“What is on your face?” Turner asked.

“I don’t know,” Kazmir said. “It’s probably mud or something.”

“It’s yellow,” Turner informed his teammate.

Either way, Kazmir recovered from his midgame swoon to log his longest outing since May 14. He struck out eight Nationals as his teammates battered Reynaldo Lopez, a 22-year-old making his big league debut, for six runs. Chris Hatcher coughed up three runs in the eighth, but the Dodgers (53-42) hung on for the victory.

The team declined to pout after learning about the setback with Clayton Kershaw’s back and the tendinitis in Hyun-Jin Ryu’s elbow. Kazmir performed like the pitcher the Dodgers hoped they acquired when he signed a three-year, $48-million contract last winter.

“Kaz has a lot of fight in him,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “With what we’re going through, guys have to step up.”

The lineup also did its part. Chase Utley drove in three runs on three separate hits, including a leadoff solo shot in the first inning. Joc Pederson victimized Lopez for a crucial, two-out, two-run single in the first. Turner recorded three hits and scored twice. Howie Kendrick reached base three times and scored twice.

The victory continued an odd trend. The team is now 12-6 since Kershaw last pitched.

“We realized that we’ve got to pick it up a little bit,” Utley said. “It’s tough losing the best pitcher in baseball.”

Yet the night still involved worry. In the fifth inning, Kazmir hopped to snag a grounder. When he landed on the lip of the mound, his right leg buckled, caused by cramping. On his next pitch, he felt his left calf cramp. He soon gave up a solo homer to catcher Jose Lobaton on an 87-mph fastball.

After that inning, the training staff tended to Kazmir’s dehydration, administering the odd mixture of ingredients. The remedy stuck. He passed an early test in the sixth, when he had to spring to first base on a groundout.

“It felt like I was walking on eggshells,” Kazmir said. “I was a little cautious.”

Kazmir’s fastball velocity returned to 93 mph, and he retired six of the last seven batters he faced. It was only the second time in 19 starts this season that he finished the seventh inning.

“To be able to get deep in the game, and pick those guys up?” Kazmir said. “That was huge.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes