First pitch: Monday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: Washington +170, Los Angeles -180, Total: 8.0

The Dodgers will be looking to win their fourth straight game when they host the Nationals on Monday.

The Nationals are struggling a bit coming into this game on Monday, as they have now lost two straight games. Washington has scored just three runs in each of those games and gave up a miserable 13 as well. The team will need to find a way to hit better or it will need some lights out pitching against Los Angeles. The Dodgers are hot coming into this game, winning three straight and five of their past six as well. They’ll be feeling really good about their chances on Monday, as LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-1, 1.58 ERA, 133 K) will be on the mound. He’ll be going up against one of the best the Nationals have to offer in RHP Stephen Strasburg (10-0, 2.90 ERA, 118 K). Washington is an impressive 13-1 against the money line with Strasburg on the mound this season, but the team is 16-38 against the money line as an underdog of +100 or higher over the past two seasons. RHP Jonathan Papelbon (Side) remains out for the Nationals in this game and OF Yasiel Puig (Hamstring) is questionable for the Dodgers.

Stephen Strasburg has not yet lost a start this season and he’ll be taking the mound on Monday to face Clayton Kershaw. He should be feeling confident as he heads into this one as he is coming off of one of his best starts of the year. Strasburg most recently faced the Cubs and allowed just one earned run in seven innings of work. He struck out eight batters in that one and walked just one. He’ll be hoping to carry in that type of efficient pitching into Monday’s outing against the Dodgers. Offensively, two guys to keep an eye on in this game are OF Jayson Werth (.250, 10 HR, 37 RBI) and 1B Ryan Zimmerman (.230, 10 HR, 32 RBI). Both guys have had some success against Kershaw in their careers, as Werth is 9-for-29 with two homers and two RBI against the ace and Zimmerman is 7-for-19 with a double and an RBI. The Nationals can use some production from both of them on Monday.

The Dodgers are hot as of late and they’ll now have Clayton Kershaw on the mound on Monday. Kershaw is off to a ridiculous start to the season and has now struck out 24 batters over the past two games. He has, however, allowed 10 hits and four earned runs in those contests. He had allowed just three earned runs in his previous five starts before that, so he will be hoping to get back to his more dominant ways. Offensively, the Dodgers are going to need somebody to step up against a very good pitcher and 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.274, 6 HR, 32 RBI) will likely need to be that guy. He is 4-for-9 with a double and an RBI against Strasburg in his career and will need that to carry over into this game. SS Corey Seager (.280, 15 HR, 36 RBI) is another guy to keep an eye on. He is Los Angeles’ best hitter and while he may not have any experience against Strasburg, he’ll be counted on to produce on Monday.