Bellinger takes a hit to the head

WASHINGTON — Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger was settling into the batter’s box of Saturday’s first game, having just taken a pitch from Nationals starter Tanner Roark, when he became the star of GIF.

Behind the plate was Washington catcher Spencer Kieboom, a rookie making his first career start. Roark wound up to throw the ball back to Roark — and conked Bellinger in the head. The baseball connected with the front of Bellinger’s helmet and rattled him momentarily.

“It startled me, because I was there and I was just getting ready to get back into the box,” Bellinger said. “It was kind of loud. It was like a ‘ping’ noise. But it didn’t hurt at all.”

By the time he returned to his locker after the game, he had already seen several instances of the play.

This season has not been easy for Bellinger. He has been attacked by opposing pitchers with breaking balls in the dirt and elevated fastballs.

He has been shifted around in the batting order, and has spent much of the past week playing the outfield, to take advantage of his versatility. He would survive the throw from Kieboom.

Bellinger smiled and shook off the entreaties from Kieboom and the umpire.

He remained in the game, driving in a run with a groundout later in the day. In the nightcap, he hit a solo home run as the Dodgers snatched a comeback victory to sweep the doubleheader.

“I’ll get hit in the head every day for that,” Bellinger said.

Roster grows

On a day when the bullpen handled all nine innings in the nightcap, the Dodgers made a flurry of bullpen moves in the morning.

The team activated lefthanded reliever Tony Cingrani from the disabled list after 11 days off to deal with inflammation in his shoulder. The Dodgers optioned Adam Liberatore back to triple-A Oklahoma City. Liberatore allowed opposing hitters to bat .385 against him in May.

Before the second game, the team activated righthanded reliever Erik Goeddel, who had been claimed off waivers from Seattle on Friday. Goeddel pitched a scoreless inning later that night in his Dodgers debut. He replaced ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte, who was sent back to Oklahoma City along with Liberatore.

Short hops

Former Dodger Howie Kendrick suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while fielding a sacrifice fly from Max Muncy in the first game. Kendrick crumpled to the ground at the warning track. He is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery on Monday, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.