Los Angeles @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2014 ) Washington 8, LA Dodgers 5

Overcoming worrisome shortcomings, the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers finished the first half of the season atop the National League East and West, respectively. The division leaders meet for the first time this season and attempt to start the second half strong when they open a three-game set Friday in the nation’s capital.

The Nationals overcame a three-game skid by winning two of three in Baltimore last weekend and maintain a two-game edge over the New York Mets. Despite employing one of the league’s top hitters in Bryce Harper and one of its most dominant pitchers in Max Scherzer, Washington hasn’t been able to muster anything more than a 4 ½-game lead in the division thanks in part to 55 errors – the ninth-highest total in the majors. The Dodgers won four of their final five prior to the All-Star break, but their first-half offense was highly inconsistent despite an NL-best 113 homers. Los Angeles, which begins a 10-game road trip through the NL East, went 11-34 when scoring three or fewer runs in the first half to remove some of the luster off its 40-5 mark when tallying four or more.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Mike Bolsinger (4-3, 3.08 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 3.22)

Bolsinger has not won in six starts since beating Arizona on June 8. The 27-year-old Texas native recorded his first quality start over that stretch in his final turn before the All-Star break, holding Milwaukee to two runs and four hits over six innings in a no-decision. Bolsinger is 0-1 with a 3.30 ERA in six road starts this season and has only one road win in his brief big-league career.
Despite his worst outing in nearly a month, Zimmermann took a three-start winning streak into the break after yielding four runs on nine hits in five frames during a 7-4 victory at Baltimore on Saturday. The 29-year-old Wisconsin native has been much better at home (4-3, 2.27 ERA, .239 batting average against) than on the road (4-2, 4.67, .324). Zimmermann has enjoyed mixed success in six career starts against the Dodgers, going 1-2 with a 5.06 ERA.

WALK-OFFS
1. Washington, which won a season series (4-2) against Los Angeles for the first time since 2005 last year, has lost each of its last two home contests following a nine-game winning streak at Nationals Park.
2. Harper’s 26 home runs prior to the break are already a career high for the 22-year-old three-time All-Star, but fell one short of Alfonso Soriano’s club record (27, 2006) for the most before the Midsummer Classic.
3. First-time All-Star C Yasmani Grandal closed the first half on a tear for the Dodgers, batting .429 with four homers and 10 RBIs over his past 10 games.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 3, Nationals 2