Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The pitching matchup everybody wants to see
• Dodgers dominating early
• Nationals desperate to get offense turned around

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Nationals vs Dodgers Predictions and Picks

It’s not a wise bet to back the Dodgers every single game, because eventually, they’re due to lose. If ever there were a reason for them to lose, it would be when they go up against a pitcher like Scherzer. Sometimes you have to try and call your spots and even as hot as the Dodgers are, it’s rare you get this type of juice on a money line play when Scherzer is on the hill. We’re going all-in with the Nationals, taking the money line, spread and under.

Picks:

Nationals to win (+155)

Under 7.5 (-118)

Spread +1.5 (-152)

How to Watch Washington Nationals vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Kershaw vs Scherzer in an Early Season Showdown

Over the past 12 years, there are three pitchers in the major league that stand head and shoulders above the rest: Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Two of them are going head to head in the frist series between the two teams since they faced off in the 2019 NLDS.

For the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw bounced back in a big way from a shaky opening day start with a magnificent game against Oakland. Kershaw threw seven innings, giving up just one run while striking out eight and walking none. Also worth noting, he threw 91 pitches, so he’s likely fully stretched out and could go more than 100 pitches if the pitcher’s duel really gets going.

On the flip side, much like the rest of his team, Max Scherzer has been thrown off to a bit of a rough start this season. His Opening Day matchup against the Mets was canceled before the entire series got postponed and then he got jumped by the Braves, giving up four runs in six innings. His best days this season are obviously ahead of him and there’s no reason to think Scherzer can’t give a talented Dodgers lineup fits on Sunday.

Dodgers Hit the Ground Running

Everybody expected the Dodgers to be the best team. That’s not the surprising part. The surprising part is how early in the season the Dodgers look like the best team — and in a way that’s not close

Entering play Sunday the Dodgers are 7-2 and have won seven of the past eight overall.

On a team that is littered with All-Star’s all across the roster, it’s Justin Turner who is cleaning up early in Hollywood. Turner came into the weekend hitting a red-hot .414, to go with a 455 OBP, two home runs, and eight RBIs coming into play on Saturday.

The Dodgers have been the second-best offense in the National League to open the season, with Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, and Chris Taylor all also entering play with an on-base percentage above .450 — a pace which almost any year would lead the entire league.

The defending World Series champions are so tough because they put good at-bats together every time up to the plate and that’s what you have to do in order to beat Max Scherzer — you must wear him down every at-bat and not let him get into a groove.

Nationals Ice Cold Offense Can Only Go Up

Entering the game Saturday night against the Dodgers, the Nationals offense has been ice cold, scoring just one run over the previous 25 innings. That isn’t something that can be explained away by the weird scheduling start to open the season, because they’d scored 11 runs in the first 12 innings of the year.

The main issue is the lack of power — Trea Turner and Juan Soto are the only players to have hit a home run this season, and they both have two. No other Nationals player has gone yard through the first five games of the season. Still, Juan Soto is looking every bit the Soto we’ve come to expect -batting .364 with a .563 OBP.

But no matter how you slice it, six runs over the last 30 innings isn’t going to get the job done.

Ryan Zimmerman is also off to a very hot start — he’s hitting .471 in the early going — but the run production is still lacking. Kershaw is almost as difficult of a task as it gets, but should they be able to get a run or two early and maybe get to the bullpen, this could be when the Nationals offense starts to turn around.