The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the nation’s capital for the first time since a thrilling Game 5 of the 2016 National League Division Series. The three-game set with the Washington Nationals is the second this season.
The June 5-7 games against the Nationals at Dodger Stadium long stood as the only series the Dodgers had lost. They arrive at Nationals Park mired in a 3-16 stretch, but on a modest two-game winning streak after dropping 11 straight.
This weekend is a potential preview to the 2017 NL Championship Series, and is one Nationals manager Dusty Baker is glad to be playing despite the postseason being around the corner.
The series begins with a pitching matchup between Alex Wood and Edwin Jackson. The former is still looking to bounce back from what’s been an inconsistent stretch.
Wood allowed five runs on eight hits, including one home run, and walked three in five innings of a loss to the Colorado Rockies. The start was a fifth straight in which he’s surrendered at least one home run.
This season, Wood is 14-3 with a 2.81 ERA, 3.31 FIP and 1.08 WHIP in 24 games (22 starts). He’s facing the Nationals for the first time in 2017. Anthony Rendon is a career 12-for-17 with one home run, two RBI and a walk off the All-Star pitcher.
But Rendon has not seen Wood since he joined the Dodgers in July 2015. Daniel Murphy is 5-for-11 with three strikeouts against Wood, while Jayson Werth is 4-for-15 with one RBI, four walks and five strikeouts.
Jackson remarkably is in his 15th season in the Majors and first with the Nationals. He was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2001 Draft and spent parts of three seasons (2003-05) with the team.
Including time with the Orioles, he’s 5-5 with a 4.14 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 13 games (10 starts). He’s 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA for the Nationals, with whom all his starts have come. Jackson faces a Dodgers lineup that’s heavy on left-handed batters.
As expected, Andre Ethier is starting in left field and batting eighth. He’s 5-for-17 lifetime off Jackson, with two home runs and three RBI. Chase Utley gets the nod at second base, and Yasmani Grandal is back behind the plate.
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West is down to seven, and they hold a five-game lead over the Nationals for best record in the NL.
Dodgers lineup:
CF: Chris Taylor
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Cody Bellinger
RF: Yasiel Puig
2B: Chase Utley
C: Yasmani Grandal
LF: Andre Ethier
P: Alex Wood
Nationals lineup:
SS: Trea Turner
LF: Howie Kendrick
2B: Daniel Murphy
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
3B: Anthony Rendon
RF: Jayson Werth
CF: Michael A. Taylor
C: Matt Wieters
P: Edwin Jackson
