The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to pick up their eighth straight victory Saturday night, as they take on the Washington Nationals in D.C. in the third game of a four-game set. L.A. has won five straight against the Nats and has outscored them 16-7 in the series’ first two games.
The winning streak has put the Dodgers just a half-game behind the Giants for the division lead and the best record in the NL. Another loss for Washington would drop them to below .500 for the first time in months.
Here are our free picks and predictions for Dodgers vs Nationals for July 3 (7:15 p.m. EST).
Dodgers vs Nationals game info
• Location: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
• Date: Saturday, July 3, 2021
• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• TV: SportsNet LA, SNLA Deportes, MASN
Dodgers vs Nationals odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonWith Clayton Kershaw toeing the slab, Los Angeles opened as -205 chalk Friday night at FanDuel and stretched to -255 this morning, before backing up to -235. As of 4:30 p.m. ET, it's all Dodgers on the moneyline, at 91 percent of bets and 96 percent of dollars. And bettors are piling on Dodgers runline, as well, laying 1.5 (-140) to the tune of 86 percent of bets/92 percent of money. The total moved from 8.5 to 9 and back to 8.5, currently priced at Over -114, with 59 percent of bets/61 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameDodgers vs Nationals betting preview
Starting pitchers
Clayton Kershaw (9-7, 3.25 ERA): Vintage Clayton Kershaw has been on display over the last month as the lefty has punched out 47 batters over 32 innings while pitching to a 3.09 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. He has struck out at least nine batters in four of his last five and has enjoyed pitching at Nationals Park with a 12.4 K/9 rate there over his career.
Paolo Espino (2-2, 2.02 ERA): Espino is a 34-year-old pitcher with just 65 2-3 MLB innings under his belt. He is 14 months older than his pitching counterpart in Kershaw and has 2,399 fewer career innings than the Dodger starter. For every strikeout Espino has collected, Kershaw has had 101.9. But in fairness, the right-hander has been decent in his three sporadic starts this year, going 2-1 with two runs allowed on 13 hits over 14 1-3 innings. He’s owned a sub-1.00 WHIP since the beginning of May.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Dodgers: Corey Seager SS (Out), Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Questionable).
Nationals: Trea Turner SS (Questionable), Kyle Schwarber OF (Questionable), Daniel Hudson RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Dodgers are 5-0 in the last five meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Nationals.
Runline pick
The Los Angeles Dodgers are making a push for the division lead as they've won seven straight games heading into Saturday night’s match with the .500 Nationals. Over that stretch, the Dodgers have outscored their opponents 38-15 and have held teams to two runs or fewer in six of those games. The offense is hot, the pitching and bullpen have been legit, and now L.A. has Clayton Kershaw pitching like it's 2014.
Kershaw is coming off one of his best starts in some time after firing eight innings of one-run ball versus Chicago and striking out a season-high 13 batters. The lefty has sat down 47 of the 129 batters he’s seen over his last five starts, good for a 36.4 percent strikeout rate.
Kershaw has enjoyed pitching at Nationals Park, as his career 12.4 K/9 is the highest in any NL park. If Kershaw can’t win it himself, the L.A. offense has a great matchup to pick up its leader.
The Dodgers have a 124 wRC+ over the last week, which is the seventh-best mark in baseball, but Saturday’s opponent may be the easiest matchup it has seen in a while.
Washington will start Espino, who is a 34-year-old right-hander making his fourth MLB start. Espino has not allowed a run over his last two starts (10 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 5 K) but those two starts came against two of the worst offenses in the league in the Mets and Pirates.
The Dodgers have covered the runline in 11 of their last 14 games and on the road, it always feels better, although the price is a little steep. If that is the case, take a ride on the very uncommon -2 runline.
PREDICTION: Dodgers -1.5 (-152)
Team total pick
Betting on a one-sided total is always a scary thing, but there are other ways to navigate the markets instead of taking a straight total.
If we’re riding the Dodgers on the runline, we're going to pass on the Dodgers’ team total of 5.5 for even money. Instead, we’re liking the total that the books are hanging on the weak bats of the Nats.
Washington will likely be without Trea Turner and Kyle Shwarber on Saturday. The duo has combined for 39 of the team’s 89 total homers, good for a 43 percent team share. Without them at the top of the order, Washington looks a lot weaker and Kershaw can be much more careful versus Juan Soto.
The Nats love hitting the ball on the ground, with the NL’s highest groundball rate (46.2 percent), while Kershaw won’t make elevating the ball any easier with a 48.2 GB rate this season.
The L.A. bullpen has been dominant over the last month, too. The pen has produced a 3.22 ERA over the last 30 days and a 0.56 HR/9 which is the third-best mark over that stretch. The Dodgers can throw a handful of elite relievers at you and the Nationals, who score just 4.08 runs per game, will struggle even after Kershaw exits.
PREDICTION: Washington team total Under 3.5 (-139)
Dodgers vs Nationals betting card
- Dodgers -1.5 (-152)
- Washington team total Under 3.5 (-139)
Picks made on 7/3/2021 at 10:30 a.m. ET
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