This Wednesday the (33-65) Washington Nationals and the (64-31) Los Angeles Dodgers will play their final game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 3:10 PM EST inside Dodgers Stadium. This is also the second series between these two teams this season, as the Dodgers stole the first one. The Nationals did win the first game of this series, though.
The Washington Nationals are coming into this one after losing their previous series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Washington struggled in the field, as they failed to keep Arizona off the base paths in the first two games of that series. Their pitching and fielding must be better if they want to slow down this Dodger's batting lineup.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are entering this one after dismantling the San Francisco Giants. They swept them in four games, as they couldn't be slowed down at the plate. They scored 25 comb ined runs in four games, as they were on fire!
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Washington Nationals have not had the season that they were hoping for, but they did look solid in the first game of this series. They are currently (3-7) in their last 10, as they have struggled at the plate and in the field. They are also in last place in the NL East, as they are 27.5 games out of first place. At the plate, the Nationals are scoring 3.92 runs per game and hitting .246 as a team. This is the 27th least amount of runs scored per game, but the 13th highest overall team batting average. They have consistently reached base safely, but the Nationals have been horrible when they have men in scoring position. They haven't been very clutch this season, as they aren't coming through when they have men in scoring position. They have also shown that they have very little home run power inside their batting lineup. They are only averaging .79 bombs per game, which is the 27th lowest overall average. Washington is one-dimen sional at the plate, as they need to do a better job of scoring runs. They've had their opportunities, but they continue to squander them. I also expect the Nationals to stay very conservative once they have reached base safely. They have only stolen 38 bases this season, which is the 23rd least in the MLB. They have allowed their bats to move their base runners into scoring position, as they don't have a ton of speed inside their lineup.
In the field, the Nationals also still have some work to do. They are currently allowing 5.58 runs per game and they have the 28th lowest overall team fielding percentage. They tend to kick the ball around in the infield, as they have struggled to support their starting pitchers this season. They continue to make mistakes and gift their opponent free bases and runs. They have to cut down on these errors if they want to start contending more in these games. They have also already recorded 66 fielding errors, which is t he second most in the league.
According to MLB.com, the Nationals will be starting Patrick Corbin on the mound in this one. He has been up and down this season, as he is (4-13) with a 6.02 ERA. He also has a 1.7o WHIP rating, as he has struggled to keep his opponents off the base paths. He struggled in his last start, as well. He only pitched for 5.0 innings and gave up five earned runs to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He will have to be better in this one if he wants to avoid another tough loss, as the Dodgers are no joke at the plate.