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The Dodgers face the first-place Nationals for the second time this season, this time in Washington D.C., and here is a look at the probable starting pitchers for their three-game series.
Tuesday, 4:05 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA)
Scott Kazmir is coming off his shortest start of the season, just three innings against San Diego on July 8. He is the only pitcher in this series to have pitched in the two clubs' previous series this year in Los Angeles, allowing two runs in six innings on June 21 at Dodger Stadium, working around six extra-base hits allowed.
Washington will call up Reynaldo Lopez to make his major league debut in the series opener, after a 3.19 ERA in 16 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, with 109 strikeouts and 31 walks in 87⅓ innings. The 22-year-old Dominican right-hander was ranked the No. 48 prospect in baseball last week in Baseball America's midseason top 100.
Wednesday, 4:05 p.m. (SportsNet LA)
Hyun-jin Ryu waited 620 days to make a major league start his last time out, missing over a year and a half after left shoulder surgery. Now, after the All-Star break, Ryu's second start is 12 days after his first.
Gio Gonzalez has a 7.20 ERA in his last 10 starts, with opponents hitting .303/.389/.509 against him.
Thursday, 9:05 a.m. (SportsNet LA, MLB Network)
The Dodgers have technically only announced their starters through Wednesday, but manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday that Clayton Kershaw would not return from the disabled list to face the Nationals. That would seem to mean Bud Norris remains in the rotation to make this start on the earliest start of the season.
Stephen Strasburg leads the Nationals with a 2.51 ERA in 17 starts, with 138 strikeouts and 33 walks in 114⅔ innings. He is also the third National League pitcher to open a season 13-0, and the first since Rube Marquard set the major league record with an 18-0 start in 1912.