Will Dodgers’ hitters be overmatched in series with Nats?

The Dodgers lack proven star power on offense. On the flip side, the Nationals don’t have too much to worry about on the mound in the star department.

Washington D.C.’s beleaguered baseball team features a veteran with Cy Young awards in the AL and NL, one of the best power right-handers in the National League, and a lefty hurler who has dominated the Dodgers for two straight seasons starting game one.

Sure, the Dodgers can match this on the mound, but are their hitters up to the task? Can the floundering Cody Bellinger pull himself back into the high gear he found himself in back in May? Will Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Corey Seager maintain their fragile health and make it through the series? Can A.J. Pollock and David Freese help the team handle Corbin’s arsenal?

These are all questions I’d like to answer with a simple “Yes.” But as many questions about the Dodgers often are, the answers are much murkier.

Despite setting a franchise record for wins, despite an MVP-hopeful roaming the outfield, and despite one of the hottest shortstops in the game manning the captain’s slot with good health for the first time since 2017 (or even 2016), will the Dodgers be able to maintain their magic and hit quite possibly the toughest and most complete rotation in all of baseball (or at least in the NL) besides their own?

That remains to be seen. But instead of just sitting around waiting to see the outcome, I decided to do some digging to see if I could find out just how strong the Nationals rotation is, and if the notably worse bullpen underbelly could really undo all of that good stuff at the surface.