TLDR: Washington is 8 games under .500 with nothing left to play for; Los Angeles is 26 games over and chasing a third straight ring. Dodger Stadium usually settles arguments like this one fast.
+Snell dealing since return, double-digit Ks last out
+Won last game on a walk-off, Will Smith back
−2-3 in last 5, dropped 2 of 3 in this Cardinals set
−Ohtani day-to-day with lingering biceps/neck issue
−Bullpen roughed up in back-to-back games
Jackson Kent gets the ball for Washington, still just a handful of starts into his big league career after debuting in mid-August. He picked up a win his last time out, throwing 7 innings against Miami, but a rookie lefty on the road at Dodger Stadium is a different animal than one at home against a rebuilding division rival. Across from him is Blake Snell, who has been about as good as any starter in baseball since coming off the injured list, striking out double digits in his last outing against Detroit ahead of Saturday's 7:10 PM PT first pitch.
Jackson Kent
(1-4)·6.40 ERA
Aug 28 vs Marlins
W
7.0IP
1ER
3K
4BB
106P
09/04 Lineup
Blake Snell
(4-1)·1.86 ERA
Aug 29 @ Tigers
ND
5.0IP
1ER
10K
3BB
99P
09/04 Lineup
Washington caught a break on the health front: Keibert Ruiz cleared concussion protocol and is back behind the plate, and Cade Cavalli's calf scare from last week was labeled nothing serious. LA's picture is murkier. Shohei Ohtani has been given nights off recently while he battles lingering biceps and neck issues that manager Dave Roberts hasn't ruled out an injured list stint for, even while calling it unlikely. Will Smith is back behind the plate for the Dodgers after his own absence, which at least stabilizes a lineup that's had to piece things together in September.
None of that changes the shape of the schedule entering the weekend. The Dodgers are trying to hold serve in a stacked National League while nursing a banged-up pitching staff of their own, and every series against a last-place club like Washington is as much about staying healthy as it is about the standings. For the Nationals, games like this are an audition for arms like Kent while the front office watches how a rebuilt rotation depth chart holds up down the stretch.
Washington has taken 2 of 3 from Miami and split its next set with Atlanta, a stretch that ended with a lopsided loss. The Dodgers have been streakier than their record suggests, dropping the first two of their current series with St. Louis before escaping the finale on a walk-off. That's a club that hasn't quite found its rhythm even with the standings comfortably in hand.
Washington's rotation and bullpen have been hit hardest — Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Connelly Early and Mitchell Parker are all out for the year rehabbing or recovering from surgery, which is exactly why a rookie like Kent is starting games in September. The Dodgers' injury list reads differently, with names like Roki Sasaki and Edwin Diaz further down the road to returning. For Saturday's lineup card, though, it's the Ohtani situation that matters most.
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