Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers: Preview & Prediction
By Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball
Published:
The Washington Nationals (9-10, 6-3 away) and Los Angeles Dodgers (8-9, 4-5 home) find themselves in unfamiliar territory entering Friday night’s game in LA. Both teams are sporting losing records despite entering the 2018 season with high hopes of capturing their divisions and maybe, just maybe, winning the World Series.
The Nationals have been undone by injuries to Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon and Adam Eaton, while the Dodgers have been plagued by poor hitting. LA is batting just .250 and has the sixth worst OPS in the National League. The good news is that somebody has to come away with a victory tonight.
This evening’s match-up features two of the premiere aces in baseball as Max Scherzer takes the mound for the Nationals and Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for the Dodgers. The game gets underway at 10:07 PM ET.
Below, find the opening odds, key statistics and betting trends, weather forecast, and score prediction for tonight’s game.
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | RUNLINE | O/U RUNS |
|---|---|---|
| NATIONALS (+124) | NATIONALS +1.5 (-190) | OVER 6.0 (-111) |
| DODGERS (-134) | DODGERS -1.5 (+165) | UNDER 6.0 (-109) |
Scherzer has been one of the Nationals’ few bright lights this season. The five-time All-Star is 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA and is leading the NL in complete games and shutouts. His lone loss came on April 4th against the Braves when he uncharacteristically gave up five runs in five innings pitched. Ol’ Blue Eye has since bounced back with a quality start against the Reds and should be in peak form tonight.
Scherzer will be facing Kershaw, the player he beat to win his third Cy Young award in 2017. The Dodgers ace is 1-2 with a 1.73 ERA this season, but his win-loss record doesn’t accurately reflect his performance. LA has only eked out one run in his two losses and has squandered two excellent outings. The Claw looked especially good in his last start against the Giants, giving up one run over six innings and striking out seven. Expect another vintage performance tonight.
Team Stats
| NATIONALS | STATISTIC | DODGERS |
|---|---|---|
| 9-10 (6-3 Away) | RECORD | 8-9 (4-5 Home) |
| -5 | RUN DIFFERENTIAL | +12 |
| RHP Max Scherzer: 3-1, 1.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP | PROBABLE STARTER | LHP Clayton Kershaw: 1-2, 1.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP |
| .256 BA, .608 OPS (in 121 at-bats) | LINEUP VS OPPONENT STARTER | .148 BA, .473 OPS (in 88 at-bats) |
| 5.82 ERA (29th in MLB) | BULLPEN ERA | 4.04 ERA (19th in MLB) |
| .729 (11th in MLB) | TEAM OPS | .703 (15th in MLB) |
| 3-3 (2-1 Away) | 2017 HEAD-TO-HEAD | 3-3 (1-2 Home) |
Betting Results & Trends
| NATIONALS | TREND | DODGERS |
|---|---|---|
| Won 4 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Lost 1 |
| 3-2 | LAST 5 | 4-1 |
| 8-11 | RUNLINE RECORD | 7-10 |
| 9-8-2 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 10-7 |
| Over 1 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Over 7 |
The Nationals had the day off on Thursday, but were trounced 11-5 by the Mets on Wednesday night thanks to a decisive nine-run rally in the 8th inning.
The Dodgers pummeled the Padres 13-4 on Wednesday night to improve their road record to 4-4.
Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch
| TEMPERATURE | 62° |
| HUMIDITY | 62% |
| WIND SPEED | WSW 3 mph |
| P.O.P. | 1% |
Score Prediction
| NATIONALS | 3 |
| DODGERS | 2 |
No surprise here, but this one all comes down to pitching. The hottest hurler entering tonight’s game is Scherzer, who breezed through his last start against Cincinnati, mowing down ten batters in six innings.
The 6’3” right-hander is leading the league in strike outs and FIP and has fared well historically against the Dodgers. He surrendered just three hits in seven dominant innings against LA in his one start against the club last year.
Kershaw will try matching him pitch for pitch, as few others can, but Scherzer has the edge against the Dodgers’ dormant bats. Expect a low-scoring game with plenty of punch-outs and the kind of mound mastery that you generally only see in October.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
