Nationals vs Dodgers Odds, Lines, and Pick (April 9)
- The Nationals and Dodgers begin a three-game set on Friday, April 9th at Dodger Stadium
- It will be the battle of two hard-throwing righties with Joe Ross and Walker Buehler taking the mound for their respective teams
- Get the odds, preview, and pick for Game 1 below
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be looking to continue their dominance early on when they welcome the Washington Nationals to town on Friday, April 9th (first-pitch 4:10 pm ET) at Dodger Stadium.
Walker Buehler gets the ball for the second time this season, while Joe Ross makes his first start for the Nats since 2019 after opting out last year due to COVID-19 concerns.
Nationals vs Dodgers Odds
| Team | Runline at DraftKings | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | +1.5 (+120) | +270 | O 8.5 (-114) |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | -1.5 (-143) | -335 | U 8.5 (-107) |
Odds as of April 8th.
The latest Nationals vs Dodgers odds are favoring the World Series champions heavily at a -335 Moneyline.
Tough Task For Ross
After a year without stepping on the bump, Ross will face a daunting task right away with a Dodgers lineup that’s been raking so far. The 27-year-old has not had much success against LA, compiling a 7.02 ERA in 16.2 career innings.
Ross barely pitched in Spring Training either, tossing only 9.2 innings. It’s hard to know what we’ll get from the right-hander considering his limited number of appearances over the last 12 months, but Los Angeles’ .407 average versus Ross is certainly not a good sign for the Nats heading into this one.
Dodgers Stats vs Ross
| Player | AB | H | HR | RBI | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Barnes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Cody Bellinger | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| Max Muncy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .1000 |
| AJ Pollock | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Corey Seager | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .1000 |
| Will Smith | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .1000 |
| Chris Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Justin Turner | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 |
The Dodgers have been very productive offensively through their first seven games. They’re scoring 6.3 runs per game, which is fourth in the majors. As a lineup, LA is also hitting a ridiculous .310, led by shortstop Corey Seager. The two-time All-Star is destroying the baseball right now, going 11 for 26 with three doubles.
The Dodgers took three out of four against the Rockies to start the season, then also won their next series in Oakland. Dave Roberts’ team is outscoring their opponents 40-22 to this point, a testament to just how fundamentally sound LA is both at the plate and on the mound.
Buehler Makes First Start at Home
Buehler looked solid in his season debut in Colorado, tossing six innings of two-run ball while striking out four Rockies. It wasn’t a typical performance for the former Vanderbilt standout though in one specific way. His fastball averaged just 94.7 mph, substantially down from Buehler’s upper 90’s stuff.
It was a good sign however that he didn’t give up any free passes. The velocity will get back to where it should be as it’s still very early in the season. As for Friday’s opponent, the righty hasn’t pitched a whole lot against Washington, owning a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 innings.
Nationals Stats vs Buehler
| Player | AB | H | HR | RBI | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starlin Castro | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .300 |
| Jonathan Lucroy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Victor Robles | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .600 |
| Juan Soto | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Trea Turner | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
The Nationals haven’t had much luck facing Buehler, but again, it’s been a small sample size. They continue to be without several key hitters such as Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, Yan Gomes, and Josh Harrison.
Although DC won just one of three against the Braves in their opening series, there were definitely some positives. They swung the bats fairly well with two solid lefties on the bump in Drew Smyly and Max Fried, scoring 12 runs in the first two games.
So this is the dad s𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮ngth they were talking about.@treavturner // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/GjxeziFEwQ
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 7, 2021
Trea Turner was a sparkplug at the top of the lineup, hitting two bombs already, while Starlin Castro also put together some quality AB’s. Buehler is definitely the best arm they’ve faced yet though and it will be very difficult to rattle the Dodgers ace.
Go With LA
Absolutely nothing against Ross, but I believe he’s going to have a tough time containing an LA offense who are hitting off everybody right now. Their lineup is simply too strong and his struggles against them will continue.
As for the Nats, they’re not going to have much luck off Buehler. He’s practically unhittable at home with a 2.46 ERA while striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings. Go with the defending champs here to cover the runline and collect a victory.
Pick: LA Dodgers -335, -1.5 (-143)
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Quinn Allen is a sports journalist, with a background and education in broadcast journalism (BCIT '17). He is a full-time associate editor at ClutchPoints by day, where he writes about soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and more. At night, Quinn is a frequent contributor at SBD.
