Dodgers at Nationals
With the exception of teams within the National League West, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has enjoyed more success against the Washington Nationals than any other opponent. The three-time Cy Young Award winner will look to pad those numbers when the visiting Dodgers continue a three-game series against the Nationals on Saturday afternoon.
In 16 appearances (15 starts) against Washington, Kershaw has logged an 11-3 record and 2.18 ERA while holding the team to a .211 batting average against. Justin Turner went deep for the second time in as many games, cracking a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning of Friday's 4-2 win as Los Angeles reclaimed the best record in the majors. The Nationals' bullpen, which owns the NL's worst ERA, gave up a crushing home run for the second straight day to suffer back-to-back losses for the first time since June 22-23. Adam Eaton provided one of Washington's runs with a tying RBI single in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to five games.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), MASN (Washington)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 2.84 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Joe Ross (0-2, 9.45)
After back-to-back mediocre performances to close out last month, Kershaw has been superb in his three starts in July, although he has only one win to show for it despite a microscopic 0.95 ERA. The 31-year-old had to settle for a no-decision versus Miami last weekend despite registering a season-high 10 strikeouts and permitting only two hits over six scoreless innings. Howie Kendrick is 6-for-19 against Kershaw, who is 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA at Nationals Park.
Ross was recalled from Triple-A Fresno to make his first start of the season at Atlanta on Sunday and took the loss, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out six over 5 1/3 innings. It was only his second appearance with the Nationals since May 24 and 18th overall this season for the 26-year-old, who made 45 starts for Washington from 2015-17
WALK-OFFS
1. Nationals RHP Kyle Barraclough, called up from the minors Friday, gave up the homer to Turner and has allowed 11 of 13 inherited runners to score this season.
2. Turner has hit safely in all four matchups against Washington this season.
2. Nationals ace Max Scherzer will not throw for two days after he was diagnosed with a mid-back strain on Friday.