Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a grueling stretch over the last month, the Dodgers (47-30) began an easier part of their schedule with a win against the Washington Nationals (31-45) last night. The Dodgers started their “B” lineup that featured all of Michael Conforto, Kiké Hernández, and Miguel Rojas, against the Nationals’ ace, MacKenzie Gore, a potentially problematic combination that ended up working out for Los Angeles. Gore allowed five earned runs on seven hits and four walks, his worst outing of the year. Kiké had two doubles, Rojas had a double and a two-run homer, while Clayton Kershaw and the bullpen kept Washington just out of reach. Dustin May will be on the mound as the Dodgers look for their fourth consecutive series win, while Jake Irvin looks to right the ship for the Nationals.
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| 7:10 P.M. | Los Angeles | ||
| SS | Abrams (L) | DH | Ohtani (L) |
| LF | Wood (L) | SS | Betts |
| 2B | García (L) | 1B | Freeman (L) |
| 1B | Lowe (L) | C | Smith |
| 3B | House | RF | T. Hernández |
| DH | Bell (S) | 3B | Muncy (L) |
| RF | Lile (L) | CF | Pages |
| C | Ruiz (S) | LF | Conforto (L) |
| CF | Young | 2B | Edman (S) |
| P | Irvin (R) | P | May (R) |
The Nationals will change things up quite a bit against the right-handed May. Amed Rosario will sit in favor of the lefty Luis García Jr. at second base despite having two hits yesterday. Riley Adams had a homer off Kershaw, but old friend Keibert Ruiz will get the start today behind the plate. Josh Bell will DH instead of Andrés Chaparro, while Daylen Lile will start over Alex Call. The only right-handed batters are Brady House and Jacob Young, with every other spot being occupied by a lefty or a switch-hitter.
The Dodgers make a few changes with the right-handed Irvin on the mound. Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman are back in the lineup despite Kiké and Rojas having success in their absence yesterday. Hyeseong Kim will be on the bench again as Tommy Edman starts at second base with Andy Pages in center and Conforto in left.
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Here’s how May and Irvin compare.
May has been perfectly acceptable this year, and while rarely excellent, he’s generally been good enough to consistently keep the Dodgers in the game. He’s had a few stinkers, but he’s managed to go at least five innings in each of his first 13 starts this year. That’s valuable, even if those innings are at a 4.46 ERA. His last time out he earned his fourth win of the year, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks over six innings against the Giants. He gave up all three runs in the fourth inning, a recurring issue for him where he has one or two innings with crooked numbers before locking back in. A little consistency would go a long way for him, but it starts with his command and control. He’s lost his accuracy a bit over his last two outings, walking four batters in each outing, in addition to two HBP his last time out. The results have been fine, but it makes every outing so unnecessarily stressful. He had a great outing against the Nationals in early April, allowing just one earned run over six innings on three hits and three walks.
Irvin has been great this year for Washington, in a similar capacity as May. The innings haven’t necessarily been fantastic on a rate basis, but he’s gone at least five innings in every outing and has allowed more than four runs just twice. His last time out he allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk against the Rockies, ultimately receiving no-decision in that outing. He’s been durable and dependable, as he’s logged the 18th most innings in baseball this year at 89.1, coming off the eleventh most in 2024 at 187.2. Factor in that he’s in his age-28 season with four years of control after this, and that’s quite a valuable player despite not really moving the needle from an upside perspective. The Dodgers would be infinitely better with a guy like Irvin eating innings every fifth day. He faced the Dodgers earlier this year in a no-decision in which he went six innings allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
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Tyler Glasnow and Luis García are both nearing returns.
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First pitch is at 7:10 PT on SNLA and MLB Network.
