First pitch: Wednesday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Line: Washington +120, Los Angeles -130, Total: 7.5

The Dodgers will be looking to win their sixth straight game when they host the Nationals Wednesday night.

Washington is really struggling at the moment, losing four straight games and two straight against this Los Angeles team. The Nationals have been awful offensively, scoring three or less runs in four straight. They will need to find a way to produce more runs or it’s likely they’ll be picking up a fifth straight loss on Wednesday. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have now won five straight games and their pitching has been the big story. Los Angeles has allowed two or less runs in four of its past five games and will be hoping to keep that up in this one. The starters in this game are set to be RHP Joe Ross (6-4, 3.13 ERA, 65 K) for Washington and LHP Julio Urias (0-2, 4.50 ERA, 29 K) will be on the mound for Los Angeles. One thing that stands out when looking at this game is that the Nationals are 15-3 against the money line in road games when playing on a Wednesday over the past two seasons. They’re also facing a Dodgers team that is 7-12 against the money line after a win by two or more runs this seasons. Los Angeles is, however, going to be happy to know that Washington is a lousy 16-40 against the money line as an underdog of +100 or higher over the past two seasons.

The Nationals have won in each of Joe Ross’s past five starts, but he has been rather unimpressive in his last three outings. Ross has given up 11 earned runs over those games and has given Washington just 21.0 innings of work. It’d be big if he can go a bit deeper into this one, as it would take a ton of pressure off of the Nationals’ bullpen. Ross would also benefit from a game in which he doesn’t allow a homer. He has given up a bomb in seven of the past eight games and it’d be huge if he can keep his pitches down in the zone on Wednesday. Offensively, both OF Bryce Harper (.258, 15 HR, 43 RBI) and 2B Daniel Murphy (.352, 12 HR, 46 RBI) will need to step it up for Washington in this one. Harper homered for the Nationals in Tuesday’s loss and now has two homers in the past six games. It’d be big if he can start to consistently provide some power at the plate, as he has really slumped over the past few months after getting off to a crazy hot start to the season. Murphy has also been in a major slump for Washington and has now seen his average drop from .374 to .352 over the past 10 games. The Nationals really need Murphy to start getting on base frequently beginning with this game.

The Dodgers are on fire right now and Julio Urias will be sent to the mount in search of his first MLB victory on Wednesday. The 19-year-old is coming off of his best start as a pro, striking out eight batters and walking just one in a five-inning shutout against the Brewers on Jun. 17. Since allowing three earned runs in 2.2 innings of work in his first start against the Mets on May 27, Urias has seen his ERA improve in each of his next four appearances. He’ll be feeling confident heading into this meeting with Washington and it certainly helps that the Nationals are struggling with the bat. Offensively, one guy to keep an eye on for Los Angeles is OF Yasiel Puig (.238, 5 HR, 20 RBI). Puig went 1-for-3 in his return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Tuesday and he will be excited to get back out there on Wednesday. He has owned Ross in their brief history against one another, going 2-for-3 with a homer and five RBI. It’d be huge for the Dodgers if he can drive in at least one run in this one.