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Welcome back to D.C., Nationals fans! The back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are in town for today’s homecoming matchup, as Washington faces off against Emmet Sheehan and the destructive Dave Roberts lineup.

The Washington Nationals lost Wednesday’s rubber match in heartbreaking fashion, falling via a 10th-inning walk-off. Cade Cavalli delivered a dominant start, throwing six frames of one-run ball and handing a four-run lead off to the bullpen. Andre Granillo and Cionel Pérez each surrendered solo shots before Clayton Beeter came in to attempt a five-out save. He recorded three before running into trouble that caused Blake Butera to turn to PJ Poulin, who surrendered the tying run. Cole Henry, once the game was knotted, sent it to extras but recorded no outs in the 10th.

Offensively, the Nationals’ bats woke up in the second inning, as a Joey Wiemer single was followed by walks from CJ Abrams and Jacob Young before Wiemer scored on a dropped third strike. Things were quiet for four frames before Drew Millas singled to score Young on a two-out rally that included the speedy outfielder stealing second to put himself in scoring position. Just a few minutes later in the seventh, singles from Wiemer and Daylen Lile set Abrams up for a three-run homer to make it a four-run game. While the bats went quiet after that, their scoring chance in extras was foiled by some bad luck with defensive positioning, and Lile was doubled off after a scorching line drive from Abrams. All that said, the Nats had nothing to be ashamed of at the plate yesterday despite the result.

On Deck…

The Nationals and Dodgers will continue their three-game series with game two on Saturday, as Tyler Glasnow takes the mound against Jake Irvin at 4:05.

In the hole…

The series will wrap up on Sunday at 1:05 as Roki Sasaki faces Foster Griffin, who gave the Nationals a strong outing to open their set in Philadelphia as he made his return to the major leagues.

Daylen Lile’s strong start to his career carried into the season’s first week, as the second-year outfielder continued to produce at a high level and push his batting average north of the .400 mark. While the sample remains small, Lile has consistently put together quality at-bats, spraying line drives and showing a mature approach that’s translated into results.

Right alongside him, Joey Wiemer has set the tone, currently holding the top batting average in baseball among hitters with 20+ plate appearances, and forming a quietly productive tandem with Lile at the top of the team’s leaderboard. The two have complemented each other well, Wiemer bringing early impact, and Lile matching it with disciplined at-bats and steady contact.

For a lineup still searching for consistency from top to bottom, the reliable tandem in Daylen Lile and Joey Wiemer provides much-needed stability. Having two bats producing at a high level at the same time helps lengthen the lineup and takes pressure off the rest of the order. If they can continue to complement each other, it gives Washington a steady offensive base as the season begins to take shape.

The Nationals finished Wednesday having thrown fastballs at the sixth-lowest rate among all 30 teams, a reflection of a new approach that has leaned more heavily on what their pitchers throw best. Rather than relying on velocity, Washington’s staff has mixed in breaking balls and offspeed pitches at a higher clip, something we also saw throughout Spring Training.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have taken a similar approach, ranking just three spots higher than Washington in fastball usage. Like the Nationals, Los Angeles has shown a willingness to move away from a traditional fastball-heavy game plan, instead prioritizing pitch mix and sequencing to navigate opposing lineups.

As of Thursday evening, the Nationals have the second-highest batting average against fastballs of any team, while also ranking fifth against offspeed and breaking pitches. The early returns point to a lineup that has handled both velocity and movement well, showing the ability to adjust regardless of pitch type.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, rank 11th against fastballs and 22nd against offspeed and breaking stuff, suggesting a bit more inconsistency when it comes to handling non-velocity offerings.

Since the Nationals last won an ABS challenge on March 28th, 28 other teams have successfully overturned at least one call using the system. While the margin between a correct call and a missed one can be razor thin, Washington has yet to capitalize on those opportunities, falling behind the rest of the league in converting challenges into wins.

Whether it’s timing, communication, or simply a bit of bad luck, the results haven’t followed. In a game where every call can shift an at-bat, or even an inning as the Nats saw on Wednesday, not finding success in the challenge game has quietly become a trend worth monitoring early in the season.

In a system designed to flip high-leverage calls, failing to win challenges can carry real consequences in tight games. That showed up Tuesday, when the Nationals burned two unsuccessful challenges in a three-inning span, leaving them without one in a key moment late. In the top of the ninth, James Wood stepped in without a challenge, meaning any borderline call was final.

That’s where the ripple effect showed. Even if each individual miss seems small, the misses can take away a team’s flexibility when it matters most. In close games, that margin can be the difference between extending an inning and walking back to the dugout.

Miles Mikolas has built his career on limiting walks and pitching to contact rather than overpowering hitters. Across his big league tenure, the right-hander has consistently kept his walk rates low and worked efficiently deep into games, relying on command over strikeouts. That approach has made him a reliable innings-eater, but also one who depends heavily on batted-ball outcomes.

Against the Dodgers, that idea has been tested. In 40.2 career innings vs. Los Angeles, Mikolas holds a 6.20 ERA, allowing 46 hits and 28 earned runs. Several key bats have seen him well, including Freddie Freeman (.421 AVG, 1.376 OPS), Mookie Betts (.417 AVG, 1.500 OPS), and Shohei Ohtani (.500 AVG). With just 30 strikeouts in those matchups, the Dodgers have consistently put the ball in play according to the plan, but the contact has been loud.

Mikolas’ overall profile works best against aggressive or weaker contact lineups. Against a disciplined, power-heavy group like the Dodgers, his lack of swing-and-miss shrinks his margin for error, putting pressure on defense to show up today.

The back-to-back World Series champions are in the nation’s capital after yet another massive offseason. As if their star-studded roster wasn’t dominant enough, they signed star outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract that left baseball fans all over shaking their heads. Their tax payroll of $413 million is the highest in the sport (per Spotrac), and they have seven players making north of 20 million annually. Facing the heavy favorites to win a third-straight championship in their home opener, the Nationals have their work cut out for them this weekend.

Against Washington, the Dodgers are 77-44 in the regular season, leaving the Nats with a .364 winning percentage (their second-worst against any club since relocating to D.C.). Last year’s team was able to steal three of six games from the eventual champions, but only took one at home. However, despite their dominance in the results, the Nationals have held Los Angeles to a .253 batting average going back to 2005, the eighth-lowest of any team when facing Washington. It will be a tough first weekend at home, but Blake Butera will look to steal some Curly W’s from a formidable opponent.

Emmet Sheehan, the Dodgers’ sixth-round pick in 2021, has been a force to be reckoned with since returning last year from an elbow injury that sidelined him for all of 2024. In his 15 outings in 2025, 12 of which were starts, the right-hander posted a 2.82 ERA across 73.1 innings. While his first outing this season didn’t go well, allowing four earned runs and recording just 10 outs, the 26-year-old remains a dangerous arm that Washington will need to jump on early. In his only career appearance against the Nationals, which came in 2023, Davey Martinez’s lineup tagged him for five runs over 4.1 innings, with home runs from CJ Abrams (two-run) and Keibert Ruiz (three-run). Chasing him early didn’t lead to a win for Washington that day, but it could carry some weight if they can do it again this time.

Day: 0-0 | Night: 4-2 | Home Record: 4-2 | Road Record: 0-0

Current Streak: L1 | Last Five: 3-2 | Last Ten: 4-2 | Current Month: 0-1

A.L. Teams: 1-2 | N.L. Teams: 3-0 | N.L. East: 0-0