Game 9: Dodgers at Nats

After back-to-back lopsided losses, the Nationals need to find a way to flip the script to avoid getting swept by the back-to-back World Series champs

Well, this has turned into a less-than-inspiring weekend for the Nationals. After feeling good about the way they played during a 3-3 opening road trip, they’ve come home to be ransacked by the mighty Dodgers, blown out in back-to-back games to leave them facing a four-game losing streak entering today’s series finale.

Starting pitching has been the No. 1 problem area, with both Miles Mikolas and Jake Irvin getting battered around by this potent lineup. Now it’s Foster Griffin’s turn to attempt to hold L.A.’s hitters in check. Griffin may have a few things going in his favor that his predecessors did not: 1) He’s left-handed, possibly making for a better matchup against the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Freddie Freeman, and 2) Among the entire Dodgers roster, only Ohtani has ever faced him before (and that was one at-bat, a strikeout, on June 22, 2022, in a Royals-Angels game).

The Nats lineup, though, is equally unfamiliar with Roki Sasaki, who has never faced them before. The Japanese right-hander makes his first career start in D.C., coming off a four-inning appearance against the Guardians in which he allowed only one run but threw a whopping 78 pitches. Patience truly could be a virtue for the Nationals this afternoon.

Patience may be required for everyone today if the forecasted rain lingers beyond 1 p.m. Though it’s supposed to clear up (and cool down) this afternoon, it’s possible the game won’t be able to start on time. Stay tuned for updates ...

LOS ANGELES DODGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Rain ending, 61 degrees, wind 11 mph out to right

DODGERS
DH Shohei Ohtani
SS Miguel Rojas
LF Teoscar Hernández
1B Freddie Freeman
CF Andy Pages
RF Alex Call
3B Santiago Espinal
C Dalton Rushing
2B Andy Freeland

RHP Roki Sasaki

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
2B Nasim Nuñez
1B Luis García Jr.
LF Daylen Lile
CF Joey Wiemer
SS CJ Abrams
3B Jorbit Vivas
C Keibert Ruiz
DH José Tena

LHP Foster Griffin

UPDATE at 12:05 p.m.: The start of today’s game is officially delayed. The bad news: It’s been pouring here for a while, and it’s supposed to continue for a while longer. The good news: Once it clears out, we’re good to go. So there will be baseball sometime later this afternoon.