The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to win their third straight series and continue the host Washington Nationals’ downward spiral on Tuesday.
The Dodgers pounded the Nationals 10-1 on Monday for their eighth win in the past nine games, while Washington lost for the sixth time in its past eight contests.
While Los Angeles needs only to prevail on Tuesday or Wednesday to win its third straight series, the Nationals need to win both games if they are to take their first series since capturing two of three contests in San Francisco from April 29-May 1.
The Dodgers will turn Tuesday to Walker Buehler, who has been terrific this season. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 12 walks in 46 2/3 winnings.
Los Angeles is 6-2 when he’s in the starting lineup.
“We have a great team,” Buehler said. “It kind of gives you a cushion to kind of find what you need.”
Buehler is 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA with 19 strikeouts and five walks in four career appearances (three starts) spanning 19 1/3 innings against the Nationals.
Washington, which has dropped 13 of its past 18 games since it last posted consecutive wins on May 1 and May 3, will turn to Josiah Gray.
The 24-year-old right-hander, who has never faced the Dodgers, is 4-3 with a 4.36 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 18 walks in 43 1/3 innings this season. The Nationals are 5-3 in games in which he’s started.
The Dodgers can’t play much better than they did on Monday. Los Angeles scored two runs in its first at-bat and led 5-0 after four innings and 9-0 after six. Eight of Los Angeles’ nine starting position players had at least one hit and seven either scored a run or drove one in — by the end of the sixth inning.
And then there was starting pitcher Tyler Anderson (5-0). The seven-year veteran left-hander was perfect through five innings and didn’t allow a hit until Cesar Hernandez’s double to center with one out in the sixth.
He finished allowing five hits to go along with eight strikeouts and no walks before being replaced by Phil Bickford to open the ninth inning.
“We didn’t make any adjustments against him early and couldn’t get on him,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “In the sixth inning, we saw him better and stopped chasing him as much.
“We need to just come back at it (Tuesday).”
Los Angeles’ Freddie Freeman went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs, while Mookie Betts went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Gavin Lux finished 2-for-4 with three runs and a walk.
“Our guys all throughout the lineup could be top-end guys in any lineup,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think we have the deepest lineup in baseball.”
–Field Level Media