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Dodgers Look to Keep Their Offense Going in Washington
The Dodgers will head to the nation’s capital for a three-game set with the Washington Nationals. There is rain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday so the Dodgers could see a game or two postponed.
The Dodgers will face the Washington Nationals for the second time this season as they open up a series in Washington D.C. on Friday. The Dodgers will head into the series hoping to keep their offense going. On Thursday, The Dodgers broke out for seven runs that came mainly from the bats of Justin Turner and Matt Kemp. Turner had a career-high five RBI’s Thursday and between Kemp and Turner, they combined for six hits, four doubles, and six runs batted in.
The Nationals are coming into the series more banged up than the Dodgers if that is possible. The Nats will be without All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy, catcher Matt Wieters, and outfielder Adam Eaton. Anthony Rendon did return recently and has four home runs for the Nationals already in limited time. The Nationals will throw Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in this series so that is one thing they have working for them.
Game One: Ross Stripling (0-1, 2.20 ERA) Vs. Max Scherzer (7-1, 1.69 ERA)
The Dodgers will be tasked with having to go against the best pitcher in baseball right now in Max Scherzer. While there is no doubt that Scherzer is the best pitcher in the game at the moment, Ross Stripling has quietly impressed after being inserted into the starting rotation. In his last three starts, Stripling has a 1.74 ERA which is lower than Scherzer’s 1.83 ERA in his last three starts.
Offensively, the Dodgers have not gotten many runs off of Mad Max. Matt Kemp has the only home run in the regular season off Scherzer while Joc Pederson has homered off of Scherzer in the postseason. Yasiel Puig has the best batting average against Scherzer with a .333 average and appears to be trending upward after a few home runs in the series with Miami.
The Dodgers are hoping to get Friday’s game in as there is a 90% chain of rain for the Washington area. Perhaps this could be the break the Dodgers need to finally scrape some runs across the board against the best starting pitcher in baseball. A wet field and baseball could add some weirdness to the game and give the Dodgers a chance that their awakening offense needs.
Game Two: Rich Hill (1-2, 6.20 ERA) Vs. Tanner Roark (2-3, 3.33 ERA)
Saturday’s game is another game that has a chance of being washed away by the rainstorms that are arriving in Washington D.C. this weekend. For Rich Hill, he is trying to wash away what has been a horrendous start to his season. Hill enters Saturday’s game with a 6.20 ERA and an ERA over eight in his last three starts. Hill has once again been plagued by a finger/nail injury so he will look to get healthy and back on track. Hill has fared well against the Nationals in the past regular seasons but Anthony Rendon does have a home run against him in only one regular season at-bat.
Tanner Roark is off to a solid start after a disappointing season last year. Roark has a 3.33 ERA and he held the Dbacks to a single run in his last start. Matt Kemp has also fared well in the past against Roark as he has two home runs off Roark. Yasmani Grandal also touched up Roark for a home run in the past. Roark is a ground ball pitcher so the Dodgers will look to get him to elevate his sinker and pound line drives against him like they did in Thursday’s game.
Alex Wood (0-4, 3.35 ERA) Vs. Stephen Strasburg (5-3, 3.28 ERA)
Sunday’s game has arguably the best matchup of the series when Alex Wood and Stephen Strasburg square off in an early 10:35 AM start for the west coast. Wood is yet to win a game this season but that is a bad indicator of how Wood has pitched since Alex has been great in his last three starts, boasting a 1.69 ERA.
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Anthony Rendon has mashed Wood throughout his career with an average of .632 in 19 at-bats. Bryce Harper and Michael Taylor also are hitting over .400 against Wood in their careers. Wood faced the Nats once this season and allowed two runs in six innings.
Stephen Strasburg will face the Dodgers after allowing two runs in seven innings at Dodger Stadium back in April. Strasburg has won his last three starts so he will look to keep that momentum going against the Dodgers. Justin Turner has two home runs against Strasburg in only five regular-season at-bats, and Matt Kemp is hitting over .400 against Strasburg in his career. It seems Kemp has done well against every Nationals’ starter so he will look to keep the offense going along with Justin Turner.