The circus has come to town. For the uninitiated, that’s Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who bring with them as much media as you’ll find for a postseason series. Seriously, the press box here is packed.
The Nationals will have to cope with that, not that they’re likely to care much. They did, after all, just take two of three at Dodger Stadium last week, not to mention three of their last four series, right?
To keep it going, though, they’re going to need something resembling a quality start from Patrick Corbin. And as we know, that’s been quite the challenge. The left-hander enters 0-3 with an 8.06 ERA in four starts, and Los Angeles got him for five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings last week out west.
The Nats lineup will try to score first again, something that group suddenly has become adept at. CJ Abrams and Co. face veteran lefty James Paxton, who has yet to surrender more than three runs in his three starts this year.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 12 mph out to left field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
C Riley Adams
3B Ildemaro Vargas
DH Nick Senzel
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young
LHP Patrick Corbin
DODGERS
2B Mookie Betts
DH Shohei Ohtani
1B Freddie Freeman
C Will Smith
RF Teoscar Hernández
3B Max Muncy
LF Enrique Hernández
CF Andy Pages
SS Miguel Rojas
LHP James Paxton