Los Angeles Dodgers: One win away from a sweep in D.C.

After being swept by the Los Angeles Angels in a two-game series, the Los Angeles Dodgers rebounded and can now sweep the Washington Nationals.

For some reason, the Los Angeles Dodgers always struggle against the Los Angeles Angels, despite the talent gap that is present between the two teams. These struggles often only last against the Angels, as evident by the team’s series in Washinton D.C.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won both games against the Nationals thus far. The first was a nail-biting 4-2 victory that was fueled by a late three-run home run by Justin Turner. The second was a nine-run showcase in which Will Smith recorded six RBIs in his first start since being called back up.

Smith, along with the rest of the Dodgers, are going to have a tough test on Sunday as the team is facing off against Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is part of a three-headed monster that the Nationals have in the rotation that the Dodgers luckily dodged in this series.

The trio of Max Scherzer, Strasburg and Patrick Corbin is scary to face in the postseason. Luckily, the Dodgers’ big three of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler are also elite and thus far have proven that in the series.

Walker Buehler gets the ball on Sunday and a great outing by him will go hand-in-hand with what Ryu and Kershaw did.

As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, this is who we think can provide at least one base hit in Sunday’s day game.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 0): A.J. Pollock

When looking at the matchup numbers against Stephen Strasburg, there is one name that pops out tremendously: A.J. Pollock.

Pollock, Russell Martin and Justin Turner are the only players on the Dodgers with at least a .300 batting average against Strasburg. Martin has three hits in six at-bats, Turner has four hits in 11 at-bats and Pollock has six hits in 11 at-bats (.545).

Plus, I went with Pollock on Saturday and he was unable to produce a base hit. Although some would let that sway them in the other direction, there is no way that Pollock is going to go hitless in two straight games, especially with these matchup numbers.

I do not need a massive game out of Pollock to extend the streak. All I need is one base hit off of a guy he seemingly sees well.

That feels like as close to a guarantee as I can get in this game, but we will see. My streak is at zero for a reason, after all.