The Los Angeles Dodgers travel to Washington to face the Washington Nationals on Sunday, April 5, 2026, in the final game of their series at Nationals Park. The Dodgers enter the matchup with strong momentum after dominating the first two games of the series, while the Nationals will try to stop the sweep and secure an important early-season win.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles has started the season in excellent form and sits near the top of the National League standings. Washington has shown flashes of potential but continues to struggle with consistency as the season begins.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Dodgers vs Washington Nationals Match Details<\/p>\n
MatchLos Angeles Dodgers vs Washington NationalsDateApril 5, 2026Time1:35 PM ETVenueNationals ParkLocationWashington, DCBroadcastSN LAWeatherAround 67\u00b0F at first pitch<\/p>\n
Team Records and Recent Form<\/p>\n
TeamRecordDivision PositionLos Angeles Dodgers6-21st in NL WestWashington Nationals3-55th in NL East<\/p>\n
The Dodgers have been dominant in this series so far. They have scored 23 runs in the first two games, including a 10-5 victory in the most recent matchup.<\/p>\n
Washington enters the game on a losing streak and has struggled defensively during the series, giving up multiple home runs and allowing Los Angeles hitters to score consistently.<\/p>\n
Dodgers vs Nationals Odds and Betting Lines<\/p>\n
TeamRun LineTotal RunsMoneylineDodgers-1.5 (-130)Over 9 (-115)-220Nationals+1.5 (+110)Under 9 (-105)+180<\/p>\n
The Dodgers are clear favorites heading into the matchup because of their strong offense and recent form.<\/p>\n
Starting Pitchers<\/p>\n
The pitching matchup will play a major role in the outcome of this game.<\/p>\n
TeamPitcherRecordERAWHIPDodgersRoki Sasaki0-12.251.50NationalsFoster Griffin1-03.601.00<\/p>\n
Roki Sasaki \u2013 Dodgers<\/p>\n
Roki Sasaki will start for Los Angeles. The right-hander has shown good control early in the season and has maintained a low ERA through his first outings. Sasaki throws a fastball that regularly reaches high velocity and has proven capable of limiting runs.<\/p>\n
This game will mark his first career appearance against Washington.<\/p>\n
Foster Griffin \u2013 Nationals<\/p>\n
Washington will send left-hander Foster Griffin to the mound. Griffin recently returned to the major leagues after spending time pitching overseas and impressed in his latest outing.<\/p>\n
He allowed two runs over five innings in his previous start and will look to repeat that performance against one of the strongest lineups in baseball.<\/p>\n
Dodgers Lineup News<\/p>\n
One important update for Los Angeles involves star shortstop Mookie Betts.<\/p>\n
Betts left Saturday\u2019s game early after experiencing right lower back pain while running the bases. He underwent medical evaluation and is expected to miss this game while the team monitors his recovery.<\/p>\n
Miguel Rojas is expected to take his place in the lineup while the Dodgers continue to rely on their deep offensive roster.<\/p>\n
Even without Betts, the Dodgers still feature elite hitters including:<\/p>\n
Shohei Ohtani<\/p>\n
Freddie Freeman<\/p>\n
Max Muncy<\/p>\n
Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n
Will Smith<\/p>\n
Andy Pages\u2019 Breakout Start<\/p>\n
A major storyline for Los Angeles early this season has been the impressive form of Andy Pages.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers outfielder has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, collecting 15 hits in his first 30 at-bats with three home runs. He has recorded multiple hits in several consecutive games and continues to produce key runs for the Dodgers offense.<\/p>\n
His strong plate discipline and ability to hit to all parts of the field have helped the Dodgers maintain a dangerous lineup from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
Nationals Players to Watch<\/p>\n
Despite the tough series against Los Angeles, Washington still has players capable of making an impact.<\/p>\n
CJ Abrams<\/p>\n
Abrams has been one of the Nationals\u2019 most productive hitters so far. He has already hit multiple home runs and has contributed several RBIs early in the season.<\/p>\n
Daylen Lile<\/p>\n
Lile has been producing consistently with hits and runs, helping Washington generate offensive opportunities.<\/p>\n
James Wood<\/p>\n
Wood remains a powerful hitter capable of changing the game with one swing.<\/p>\n
Team Performance Trends<\/p>\n
Dodgers Trends<\/p>\n
CategoryPerformanceMoneyline wins in recent gamesStrong success rateRun line coverageConsistentRoad batting averageAmong the best in MLBRoad OPSExtremely high<\/p>\n
Los Angeles hitters have been outstanding away from home with strong batting averages and powerful slugging numbers.<\/p>\n
Nationals Trends<\/p>\n
CategoryPerformanceHome record last seasonAmong the lowest in MLBLate inning runs allowedOne of the highest totalsStrikeout rate with two strikesLow<\/p>\n
Washington\u2019s pitching has struggled to close games, particularly in late innings, which has been a key factor in their losses.<\/p>\n
Key Factors That Could Decide the Game<\/p>\n
Dodgers<\/p>\n
Explosive offense capable of scoring in bunches<\/p>\n
Strong bullpen depth<\/p>\n
High road batting performance<\/p>\n
Nationals<\/p>\n
Left-handed lineup matchup against Sasaki<\/p>\n
Griffin\u2019s ability to limit runs early<\/p>\n
Need for better bullpen performance<\/p>\n
Nationals vs Dodgers Prediction<\/p>\n
The Dodgers enter this game as clear favorites. Their offense has been extremely productive in this series, and their lineup continues to produce even without Mookie Betts.<\/p>\n
Washington will rely on Griffin to slow down the Dodgers early and give their hitters a chance to stay competitive.<\/p>\n
However, Los Angeles\u2019 depth and offensive momentum make them difficult to stop.<\/p>\n
Predicted Score<\/p>\n
TeamPredicted RunsLos Angeles Dodgers6Washington Nationals3<\/p>\n
The Dodgers are expected to complete the series sweep if their offense maintains the same rhythm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Dodgers travel to Washington to face the Washington Nationals on Sunday, April 5, 2026, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2398],"tags":[5,4,415,414,71,4222],"class_list":{"0":"post-664867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-nationals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-nationals","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-nationals","13":"tag-washingtonnationals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116353019657818383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}