Cody Snavely
Los Angeles Dodgers (9-2) versus Washington Nationals (3-6)
WASHINGTON D.C. — After dropping their first series of the year to the Philadelphia Phillies, pushing the team to second place in the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers will head to our nation’s capital to take on the young Washington Nationals to conclude their six-game East Coast road trip.
After dropping two of three to the Phillies over the weekend in a cold and rainy Citizens Bank Park, the Dodgers sit at a modest 9-2, which shockingly puts them in second place behind the San Fransisco Giants, who have also come out hot this season with an 8-1 record.
The Dodgers have had a series of miscues the last several days, as the team has committed multiple physical and mental errors, which was different in Philadelphia.
However, the Dodgers will play a Nationals team that is searching for a groove with its young core, led by upcoming stars James Wood and Dylan Crews.
Since the 2022 season, the Dodgers have an 11-7 record against the Nationals, with seven of those wins coming at Nationals Park, including a three-game series sweep last April.
Recent injuries and an inconsistent center fielder have created a possible roster shuffle before the series. With lefty Blake Snell landing on the 15-day Injured List and Yoshinobu Yamamoto having his start pushed back, the team will need a starter for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers will still have to battle the East Coast elements this series, with game-time temperatures hovering around the fifties and a chance of rain for the first two games.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Dustin May (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs MacKenzie Gore (LHP) (0-1, 2.45 ERA)
Game Two: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Three: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Cole Irvin (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 3:45 PM PT, SNLA, MASN
Game Two: 3:45 PM PT, SNLA, MASN
Game Three: 1:05 PM PT, SNLA, MASN
Who’s in & who’s out?
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced prior to yesterday’s game that left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell would be placed on the 15-day Injured List retroactive April 3rd due to left shoulder discomfort.
In Snell’s place, the Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher Matt Sauer, who hasn’t been seen on the Dodgers roster since the Opening Day Tokyo Series, when Sauer was part of the Dodgers’ 31-player travel roster.
With the Dodgers having to shuffle their roster for this series and possibly needing a starter for Tuesday’s game, expect the Dodgers to make a move by bringing up either Justin Wrobleski or Landon Knack from Triple-A OKC to make a spot start and possibly an additional bullpen arm for Wednesday.
The only other changes on the injury front are right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin and Evan Phillips, each starting their minor league rehab assignment this past week, with Phillips making his second appearance yesterday, tossing one inning, allowing one hit, and picking up two strikeouts.
Prior to the start of the Phillies series, the Dodgers also placed all-star first baseman Freddie Freeman on the 10-day Injured List due to soreness in his ankle after falling in his shower last Sunday.
The corresponding move for Freeman was Hunter Feduccia, who was recalled from Triple-A OKC and has not appeared in a game since.
Freeman, 35, is expected to return to the Dodgers lineup, possibly by the start of the next homestand. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that Freeman could’ve played, but the team did not want to risk further injury.
Another possible outcome today is that we may see some more Injured List moves before the start of Game One in D.C. to make some much-needed roster moves for the next three games.
60-day Injured List (6): Clayton Kershaw, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt
15-day Injured List (6): Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Tony Gonsolin, Emmet Sheehan, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Snell
10-day Injured List (1): Freddie Freeman
The Washington Nationals have also been hit by the injury bug to start the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season, specifically, their pitching staff, which has seven pitchers on the Injured List.
Right-handed pitcher Michael Soroka, who had a tremendous bounce-back season with the Chicago White Sox last season and was expected to be a massive part of the Nationals rotation this season, is likely to be out until May due to a right biceps strain from his debut, start.
Infielder Andrés Chaparro has missed the last several weeks due to a left oblique strain, which he suffered during batting practice during spring training in mid-March.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Josiah Gray, who was traded to D.C. during the 2021 season, is also expected to miss half the season recovering from last year’s Tommy John Surgery.
10-day Injured List (1): Andrés Chaparro
15-day Injured List (4): Cade Cavalli, Zach Brzykcy, Derek Law, Michael Soroka
60-day Injured List (3): Mason Thompson, Josiah Gray, DJ Herz
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