After going just 3-6 on their homestand, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a nine-game road trip with a matchup against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
The Nationals took two of three from the Dodgers last week, which included a 6-4 win on Jackie Robinson Day. Washington enters at 10-11 and in fourth place in the National League East, whereas L.A. holds a half-game lead over the second-place San Diego Padres in the NL West behind a 13-11 record.
The Dodgers enter the series just 5-4 against the Nationals since the beginning of 2023.
James Paxton makes his fourth start of the season and looks to bounce back from an inconsistent outing against the Padres. The left-hander allowed three runs over five innings of work, but walked a career-high eight batters.
That came on the heels of Paxton issuing just one free pass in his previous start against the Minnesota Twins. All-in-all, Paxton has walked 14 batters this season, and his 7.88 walks per nine is the fifth-highest in baseball among pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched.
Paxton nevertheless is a respectable 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA, 6.18 FIP and 1.50 WHIP in 16 innings on the year. He owns an 0-1 record, 6.43 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in two career starts against the Nationals.
Paxton’s start is coming on extra rest as the Dodgers moved up Tyler Glasnow to start in the finale of their homestand.
Washington counters with Patrick Corbin, who has gotten off to a rough start this season. Through four appearances, he is 0-3 with an 8.06 ERA, 4.66 FIP and 1.97 WHIP in 22.1 innings pitched.
Corbin has not posted an ERA below 4.66 since the 2019 season. He finished 11th in NL Cy Young Award voting that year and helped the Nationals win their first World Series title in franchise history.
Corbin, who began his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, is 5-13 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 26 career games (24 starts) against the Dodgers.
With a left-hander on the mound, Mookie Betts has shifted over to second base so Miguel Rojas can be in the Dodgers lineup as well. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are the only left-handed hitters in the lineup.
Dodgers lineup
2B: Mookie Betts
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
C: Will Smith
RF: Teoscar Hernández
3B: Max Muncy
LF: Kiké Hernandez
CF: Andy Pages
SS: Miguel Rojas
Nationals lineup
SS: CJ Abrams
RF: Lane Thomas
LF: Jesse Winker
1B: Joey Meneses
C: Riley Adams
3B: Ildemaro Vargas
DH: Nick Senzel
2B: Luis García Jr.
CF: Jacob Young
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