As the Los Angeles Dodgers and host Washington Nationals begin a three-game series Tuesday night, a strange trend is emerging. The Nationals appear to be the hottest team, but the Dodgers will be looking for some answers at the beginning of a nine-game road trip. Sunday’s 10-0 win over the Dodgers and New York Mets was the highlight of a 3-6 homestand. That includes last week’s 1-2 loss to the Nationals, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts prefers to emphasize the most recent games. “It was the first complete game of baseball that I can remember,” Roberts said. “I’m looking forward to enjoying this and getting on the road.” The Dodgers still seem to be a loose group despite their recent struggles. Shohei Ohtani joked Sunday that he was closing in on Roberts for the Dodgers franchise home run total by a Japanese-born player. Roberts, who was born in Okinawa, had seven hits in 302 games with the Dodgers. Ohtani got five after Sunday’s outburst. “I want to break the manager’s record,” Otani said. The Nationals have won three of their last four games and are just one game below .500 (10-11). “Especially going 2 of 3 in Los Angeles (against the Dodgers) and 2 of 3 at home against the Houston Astros,” Washington third baseman Nick Senzel said. “Our expectation is to go out there and win every game. If not, we have to take the series. Hopefully we can roll with this and grab some momentum,” Senzel said. He hit his first home run of the year on Sunday, becoming the 10th player on the team to hit a home run this season. Teammate CJ Abrams has been a steady force at the top of Washington’s lineup, showing off his strength with 13 extra-base hits in the 18 games he played. “He really understands what balls he can drive,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s getting better in that regard. There’s no lack of balls that he can drive. He’s aggressive out there.” Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-3, 8.06 ERA) said: He is looking to avenge his loss to Los Angeles a week ago, where he allowed 9 hits and 5 runs in 6 1/3 innings. The Dodgers won the game 6-2. Dodgers utility player Enrique Hernandez homered the only long ball of the season from Corbin. Corbin has played in 26 career games against Los Angeles (24 starts) and has a record of 5 wins, 13 losses, and a 4.55 ERA, the most losses against any team he has ever faced. Los Angeles’ starting pitcher will be left-handed pitcher James Paxton (2-0, 2.81 ERA), who did not play against the Nationals last week. He started and won his first two games, then lost a decision in his most recent appearance on April 14, when he walked eight San Diego batters in the fifth inning. Paxton, who has an alarming 14-to-10 walk-to-strikeout ratio this season, has faced the Nationals only twice in his career. He had a record of 0 wins and 1 loss in these matches, giving up 5 runs in 7 innings and an ERA of 6.43. –Field level media
