WASHINGTON NATIONALS (43-28)

at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (39-33)

First pitch: Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: Washington +115, Los Angeles -125, Total: 7.5

The Nationals come to Los Angeles to try and even the series against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Washington has been one of the better teams in baseball this season (43-28), but is coming into tonight’s game on a three-game losing streak. The Nationals caught a bad break last night when they were supposed to have their ace, RHP Stephen Strasburg (10-0, 2.90 ERA, 118 K) on the mound, but he was scratched before the game with a back injury. The game resulted in a 4-1 victory for the Dodgers where LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-1, 1.57 ERA, 141 K) threw seven innings and only gave up one run. Washington, though, has been the best road team in the MLB, going 23-16, which has allowed the team to own a 5.5-game lead in the NL East. The Dodgers, on the other hand, have been a hot team as of late, winning their last four games and going 6-1 over their last seven. Los Angeles has a home record of 21-15 and hopes it can continue its home dominance to clinch the series tonight. The Dodgers may be getting some additional help because OF Yasiel Puig (.237, 5 HR, 20 RBI) is supposed to be activated in time for the game. Tonight Washington will have RHP Tanner Roark (6-4, 3.14 ERA, 77 K) on the mound opposite Los Angeles’ LHP Scott Kazmir (5-3, 4.64 ERA, 83 K).

The Nationals have reached the top of the division by pitching their way there. The pitching staff has a combined 3.34 ERA, fourth best in the majors, and has held batters to a .218 BA. Tonight Washington will be throwing Tanner Roark on the mound, who hasn’t pitched well all season, but is starting to find his way lately. Over his last three starts, he is 2-0 with a 5.06 ERA and the team was able to win all three games. Roark has struggled on the road this season, owning a 4.07 ERA. Washington will need to provide enough run support to get the win tonight. The Nationals will be looking to 2B Daniel Murphy (.356, 12 HR, 46 RBI) and OF Bryce Harper (.255, 14 HR, 42 RBI) to produce tonight as they have all season. OF Michael Taylor (.243, 6 HR, 12 RBI) has been hot as of late, hitting .444 with two homers and three RBI over the last seven days. C Wilson Ramos (.333, 11 HR, 38 RBI) has also been on a hot streak this month, hitting .351 with five homers and 13 RBI over the stretch. Look for OF Jayson Werth (.250, 10 HR, 37 RBI) to have a great game tonight because he has hit lefties well this year (.365, 5 HR, 13 RBI) and has gone 3-for-4 in career at-bats against Kazmir.

Los Angeles has been able to go on this win streak because of hot hitting. 3B Justin Turner (.252, 10 HR, 32 RBI) has been killing it at the plate over the last seven days, hitting .480 with five homers and 10 RBI. In addition, OF Joc Peterson (.235, 13 HR, 32 RBI) has found his HR stroke, hitting four in the last seven days. This hot hitting is uncharacteristic of the Dodgers because they don’t have one hitter hitting .300 or better this season. SS Corey Seager (.283, 15 HR, 36 RBI) is the one Dodger who has consistently produced for the team. Los Angeles’ pitcher tonight, Scott Kazmir, has had a few rough outings lately. He is 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA in his last three starts and none of the starts have lasted more than five innings. The team has lost two of the three games that he last made a start. Kazmir has not made a start against Washington as a Dodger, but he is 1-0 with a 4.65 ERA against the Nationals in his career. His last start against Washington was in 2014 where he won the game, not giving up a run.