Fresh off a sweep of the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers now welcome another National League East team to Dodger Stadium in the Washington Nationals for the start of a four-game series.
The Dodgers enter play with the best record in the NL at 25-13, having won seven of their last contests while holding a three-game advantage over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.
The Nationals, meanwhile, are in the midst of a disappointing 2-8 stretch in which they’ve lost four consecutive games. The club enters at just 14-22 on the season — good for fourth place in the NL East.
Rich Hill makes his third start of the season, still searching for his first win. In his last outing against the San Diego Padres, he allowed three runs on seven hits over four innings of work.
Hill was visibly frustrated with his performance and vowed to correct matters the next time out. He enters with a 3.60 ERA, 7.13 FIP and 1.30 WHIP on the year, having struck out nine batters against four home runs and one walk in 10 innings pitched.
The Nationals counter with offseason acquisition Patrick Corbin, who has impressed in the first seven starts for his new club. He owns a 2-1 record on the year, having posted a 3.71 ERA, 3.59 FIP and 1.12 WHIP in 43.2 innings.
Having spent the first six seasons of his career with the rival Diamondbacks, Corbin has plenty of experience facing the Dodgers. In 20 career appearances (18 starts), he is 4-9 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 102.2 innings pitched.
Corbin was nearly unhittable in four starts against Los Angeles last season, as he posted a minuscule 0.77 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with 31 strikeouts against eight walks over 23.1 innings of work.
Corbin faces a Dodgers lineup that expectedly heavy on right-handed batters. Justin Turner has been on a tear over the past two games, slugging four home runs while driving in eight RBI during the span. He’s now batting .299/.385/.448 this season and has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.
Meanwhile, Corey Seager hasn’t yet found his swing and is batting sixth, the lowest since his rookie season. It comes on his bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium.
As for the Nationals, they officially announced the signing of Gerardo Parra. He was recently released by the San Francisco Giants.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Kiké Hernandez
3B: Justin Turner
RF: Cody Bellinger
1B: David Freese
2B: Max Muncy
SS: Corey Seager
LF: Chris Taylor
C: Russell Martin
P: Rich Hill
Nationals lineup:
LF: Adam Eaton
RF: Victory Robles
3B: Anthony Rendon
1B: Howie Kendrick
2B: Brian Dozier
C: Yan Gomes
SS: Wilmer Difo
CF: Michael A. Taylor
P: Patrick Corbin
