The Los Angeles Dodgers , having been given up for dead by some experts, seem to be making a late season attempt at being a relevant force in the NL West. Tonight the Dodgers take on the Washington Nationals in game-two of a four game set with hopes of gaining ground on the NL West divison leaders, Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers trail Arizona by 5 ½ games and are 3 ½ games in back of the NL Wild-Card leading San Diego Padres.
Chad Billingsley (8-4, 3.48 ERA) will be looking for his second winning decision against the Nationals this season as he draws tonight’s pitching assignment. The last time Billingsley faced the Nationals, he got the decision and the Dodgers picked up a 13-1 win at Dodger Stadium on July 28.
Jason Bergman (2-5, 4.56) will toe the rubber for the Nationals, his first outing since coming off the disabled list with a strained hamstring. Bergmann is 0-3 with a 5.35 ERA in eight road starts, and has never faced the Dodgers.
Oddsmakers at Sportsbetting.com currently have the Dodgers listed as -170-money line favorites versus the Nationals, while the total is holding at 8.0.
The Nationals fell 5-4 to the Dodgers in game-one of the series Monday night, as +180 underdogs. The nine runs just made it OVER the posted over/under (8).
Andre Ethier drove in one run, and finished 2-for-4 at the plate for the Dodgers. Derek Lowe allowed seven hits and four runs over six innings for the win, and Takashi Saito closed out the game with his 35th save.
The Dodgers took the game as -200 favorites.
