Behind the arms of Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals, 4-1, Monday evening in the first of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles now sees the return of Yasiel Puig as they look to extend their winning streak to season-best five games.
They enter play a season-high six games above .500 and six games back of the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. Puig starts in right field and bats seventh. He was hitting .237/.283/.360 with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 20 RBIs in 53 games before going on the disabled list on June 3 with a left hamstring strain.
Trayce Thompson had started 20 straight games in Puig’s absence, batting .221/.329/.441 with four home runs and eight RBIs. However, Thompson is just 5-for-his-last-33. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believes a night off will suit the young outfielder well.
As for the mound, Scott Kazmir looks to solve his first-inning troubles. Overall this season, Kazmir is 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA, 4.42 FIP and 1.29 WHIP. Three of his five wins on the season have come at home, where he has a 4.12 ERA compared to 5.17 ERA on the road.
Kazmir last faced the Nationals on May 11, 2014 when he was a member of the Oakland Atheltics. He tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits in a victory.
Washington counters with right-hander Tanner Roark, who has been a pleasant surprise in the Nationals rotation this season. The 29 year old is 6-4 with a 3.14 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.24 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts to 30 walks.
Roark has been much better at home than on the road this season, though, as his ERA in seven home starts is 2.25 compared to 4.07 over seven road starts. In his outing, Roark gave up four runs on seven hits and had five strikeouts in six innings against the San Diego Padres.
He has pitched three innings over two relief appearances against the Dodgers in his career, giving up two hits and one run. The run came via an Adrian Gonzalez homer, who once again bats cleanup.
Justin Turner has an eight-game hitting streak, batting .467 (20-for-57) with one double, five home runs and 11 RBIs over that span. The Dodgers as a team have hit 14 home runs in their last seven games, going 6-1 in that stretch.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
LF: Howie Kendrick
CF: Joc Pederson
RF: Yasiel Puig
C: Yasmani Grandal
P: Scott Kazmir
Nationals lineup:
CF: Ben Revere
LF: Jayson Werth
RF: Bryce Harper
2B: Daniel Murphy
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
C: Wilson Ramos
3B: Anthony Rendon
SS: Danny Espinosa
P: Tanner Roark
