The Washington Nationals (3-3) welcome the two-time defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2) to Nationals Park for their home opener this afternoon.
The pitching matchup features Dodgers’ right-hander Emmet Sheehan against right-hander Miles Mikolas. Each hurler will be looking to take a step forward following rocky starts to their 2026 campaigns. Sheehan surrendered four runs in just 3.1 innings. The veteran Mikolas allowed four runs in five innings in his first start.
The Dodgers are on the road following a season-opening six-game homestand that saw them take three from Arizona and lose two of three to the Guardians. The quartet of Shohei Ohtani (.167), Freddie Freeman (.208), Kyle Tucker (.174), and Mookie Betts (.238) are hoping the road helps turn their fortunes around.
The Nationals’ offense has not been an issue. As a team, Washington is hitting .281 and scored 38 runs in their first six games. Joey Wiemer has 10 hits including two home runs 17 ABs and Daylen Lile has 11 hits and scored six runs in 27 ABs for Washington.
Lets dive into this afternoon’s matchup and the opener of this three-game series and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Dodgers vs. Nationals
- Date: Friday, April 3, 2026
- Time: 1:05PM EST
- Site: Nationals Park
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, Nationals.TV, Sportsnet LA
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Dodgers vs. Nationals
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of FanDuel:
- Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers (-271), Washington Nationals (+218)
- Spread: Dodgers -1.5 (-168) / Nationals +1.5 (+139)
- Total: 9.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Dodgers vs. Nationals
Pitching matchup for April 3:
- Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan
Season Totals: 3.1 IP, 0-0, 10.08 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 6K, 2 BB - Nationals: Miles Mikolas
Season Totals: 5 IP, 0-1, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 4K, 3 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Dodgers vs. Nationals
- Kyle Tucker has struck out 9 times in 23 ABs and has just 1 extra base hit
- Will Smith has 2 HRs and 5 RBIs
- Shohei Ohtani has walked 7 times this season
- James Wood has 3 hits in 27ABs
- Daylen Lile leads the Nats with 3 doubles this season
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Top Betting Trends & Insights: Dodgers vs. Nationals
- The Dodgers are 2-4 on the Run Line this season
- Washington is 5-1 on the Run Line this season
- The OVER has cashed 2 times in LA’s 6 games this season (2-4)
- The OVER has cashed 4 times in the Nationals’ first 6 games (4-2)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions: Dodgers vs. Nationals
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between the Dodgers and the Nationals:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Dodgers on the Run Line.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 9.5.
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