The Dodgers had their best pitcher on the mound in Tyler Glasnow, the 6-foot-8 right-hander who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in December and signed to a five-year, $136.5-million extension to be the team’s ace.

They had their most dangerous hitter at the plate for the game’s most critical moment in Shohei Ohtani, the two-time American League most valuable player who was signed to a 10-year, $700-million deal in December to power what was expected to be one of baseball’s most lethal lineups.

Neither delivered in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Nationals before a crowd of 42,677 in Dodger Stadium on Monday night, the Dodgers’ fourth loss in five games.

Glasnow, who entered with a 3-0 record and 2.25 ERA, gave up six earned runs and eight hits, including two homers, in five innings, striking out five and walking two, and suffered his first loss as a Dodger.

Ohtani had a chance to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh when, with the Dodgers trailing 6-3, he stepped to the plate against Nationals right-hander Hunter Harvey with two on after James Outman’s leadoff single to left field and Mookie Betts’ two-out single to right.

Ohtani hit the ball on the nose, sending a 98-mph line drive to center field but well within the reach of Jacob Young, who ran toward the gap in left-center for the inning-ending catch.

Glasnow overpowered the Minnesota Twins with his fastball in his previous start on April 9, a seven-inning, no-run, three-hit, 14-strikeout effort in which he induced 12 swinging strikes and 12 called strikes among his 45 four-seamers.

The velocity of the 6-foot-8, 225-pound right-hander’s fastball (96.2 mph) Monday night was virtually identical to his 96.3-mph season average, but he was hardly dominant with the pitch, inducing three swinging strikes and 12 called strikes among his 47 fastballs.

Washington leadoff man CJ Abrams gave a hint of the kind of night it would be for Glasnow when he slammed the first pitch of the game, a 95.5-mph fastball, to right-center for a double. Abrams took third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

The Dodgers scored single runs in the first (singles by Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, Will Smith sacrifice fly) and second (Max Muncy double, Chris Taylor sacrifice fly) innings off Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker, who was making his major league debut, to take a 2-1 lead.

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