The Washington Nationals will finish their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon. The Nationals will also look to take the series against the 2024 World Series Champions by sending RHP Michael Soroka (3-5, 5.06) to the mound. The Nationals will face RHP Shohei Ohtani (0-0, 9.00 ERA).

Michael Soroka takes the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first time in his career. He previously faced the Dodgers twice—once as a member of the Atlanta Braves and once with the Chicago White Sox—with both outings coming at his home ballpark.

Nats Report+ presents today’s Game Notes.

Tired of surface-level Nationals coverage? Nats Report+ dives deep, delivering the insightful analysis, exclusive interviews, and breaking news you crave.

We go beyond the box score, from in-depth prospect profiles to nuanced game breakdowns and behind-the-scenes glimpses.

Become a Nats Report+ subscriber and join a community of passionate fans who demand more than just the headlines – get the full story, get the inside edge, get Nats Report+ now!

Subscribe here today!

Last night, the Washington Nationals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 thanks to Nathiel Lowe and James Wood's home runs. The Nationals scored their seven runs on 10 hits. CJ Abrams went 1-5 with two RBI, and Nathaniel Lowe finished the game going 2-5 with two RBI and three runs. Right-handed pitcher Jake Irvin pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits and striking out seven batters. Over his 16 games this season, Irvin now has a 6-3 record with an ERA of 4.18, a WHIP of 1.23, and 66 strikeouts over 94.2 innings pitched.

Over his last seven games, Irvin has a 4-2 record with an ERA of 4.43, giving up 20 runs on 42 hits, striking out 32, and walking 10, and has a WHIP of 1.28.

On Deck…

After today’s game, the Nationals will travel down to San Diego for a three-game series with the first pitch scheduled for tomorrow at 9:40 p.m. EDT at Petco Park. LHP Mitchell Parker is scheduled to take the mound for the Nationals in the series opener. The Padres have yet to name their starters for the series.

Nathaniel Lowe reached a major milestone on Saturday night, hitting his 100th career home run in the sixth inning against the Dodgers and following it up with his 101st in the eighth. This marked his first multi-homer game of the season and the sixth of his career. Over his last 15 games since June 6, Lowe is slugging .528 with an .856 OPS, tallying two doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs, five walks, and seven runs scored in that span. For the season, he ranks second on the Nationals and fifth among National League first basemen with 47 RBIs.

Since the beginning of the 2023 season, the Nationals have used only 12 different starting pitchers—the fewest in Major League Baseball during this period. The Cardinals, Mariners, and Twins follow with 17 each. This season, Washington has relied on just six starters, tied for the second-fewest in the league behind only the Angels, who have used five.

Michael Soroka takes the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first time in his career. He previously faced the Dodgers twice—once as a member of the Atlanta Braves and once with the Chicago White Sox—with both outings coming at his home ballpark.

So far this season, Soroka has a 3-5 record with an ERA of 5.06 over nine starts and 48.0 innings pitched. Over the past seven games, Sorka has a 3-3 record with an ERA of 4.50, giving up 19 earned runs, 32 hits, nine walks, and striking out 38, and has a WHIP of 1.08

Soroka has issued just 12 walks in 48 innings across nine starts this season, tying him for the sixth-fewest in Major League Baseball among pitchers with at least 45 innings pitched. His strikeout-to-walk ratio 4.08 ranks 11th in the National League (minimum 45 innings). He’s averaging only 2.25 walks per nine innings—a marked improvement over his 2024 rate (4.97 BB/9) and his career average (2.96 BB/9).

Last game out

Michael Soroka matched his career high with a season-best nine strikeouts over six innings on June 17 against Colorado, but was tagged with the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits.

vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

In two career outings versus the Dodgers, Soroka has posted a 2.79 ERA (three earned runs over 9.2 innings) with 11 strikeouts. He will be pitching at Dodger Stadium for the first time, as his previous appearances against Los Angeles came at home.

The Dodgers fell to the Nationals 7-3 last night and now need a win in this afternoon’s rubber match to split the season series with Washington at three games apiece and secure their fourth straight series victory (currently 16-7-2 in series this season). Over the past five seasons, Los Angeles is 20-10 (.667) against the Nationals and holds a 16-11 record versus the NL East this year.

The Dodgers’ offense came exclusively from three solo home runs last night, with Andy Pages (No. 16), Will Smith (No. 9), and Teoscar Hernández (No. 14) each going deep. However, the top three hitters in the Los Angeles lineup combined for just one hit in 12 at-bats and struck out six times, which proved costly in the 7-3 loss to Washington. Smith finished 2-for-4 and is on a tear, slashing .364/.410/.818/1.225 with four home runs over his last 10 games.

Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for the second time this season and for the second time since 2023 this afternoon against the Nationals. In his first start of the season on June 16th, against the Padres, Ohtani only pitched one inning, giving up one run and two hits, and didn’t strike out anyone.

Across six MLB seasons with the Dodgers and Angels, Ohtani holds a 38-19 record, a 3.02 ERA, and 608 strikeouts over 87 career starts. He set a personal best with 15 wins in 2022 and famously closed out Japan’s World Baseball Classic championship in 2023, capping an MVP run in which he went 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA.

From 2021 to 2023, Ohtani ranked among MLB’s elite: sixth in ERA (2.97), fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.4), and fifth in opponents’ OPS (.611) among pitchers with at least 350 innings.

vs. Washington Nationals

Shohei Ohtani has delivered impressive performances against the Washington Nationals during the regular season. Over 16 games played, he has pitched 7.0 innings, recording a 1-0 win-loss record. Notably, Ohtani has maintained a flawless 0.00 ERA, allowing no earned runs during his outings. He has struck out six batters while issuing five walks and has not recorded a save in these appearances.