The Los Angeles Dodgers (46-30) and Washington Nationals (31-44) will begin a three-game set on Friday with L.A. out for revenge. The Nationals won the previous series between the two, 2-1, in early April, but recent play favors the NL West-leading Dodgers. They’ve won five of their last six games, while Washington just had an 11-game losing streak end with an extra innings victory on Thursday over Colorado. Three-time Cy Young winner, Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.25 ERA) will take the mound for Los Angeles, while MacKenzie Gore (3-6, 2.89) will tote the rubber for Washington.
First pitch is at 10:10 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. L.A. is the -190 favorite on the money line (risk $190 to win $100) in the latest Nationals vs. Dodgers odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while Washington is a +187 underdog (risk $100 to win $187). The over/under for total runs scored is 8, and the over hit in all three previous matchups this season between the teams. Before making any Dodgers vs. Nationals picks, be sure to see the MLB predictions from SportsLine’s proven model. You can also check out our Friday MLB player props.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters Week 13 of the 2025 MLB season on a 37-30 run on top-rated MLB sides picks. It has excelled making home run prop picks, returning more than 21 units of profit over the last 73 days. Anybody following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns, especially when paired with the latest BetMGM promo code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code, just to name a few.
Here are the model’s three best bets for Nationals vs. Dodgers on Friday (odds subject to change):
Clayton Kershaw Under 4.5 strikeouts (-125)
It’s been a while since Kershaw faced Washington as this will be his first start versus Washington in four years. So, he doesn’t have much familiarity with the team, and the individual batters he’s seen before have avoided racking up strikeouts. Across 22 at-bats versus current Nats hitters, Kershaw has just two strikeouts. The southpaw pitcher has faced in between 21 and 24 batters in each of his last four games, so one shouldn’t expect him to have any lengthier of a stay on the mound. That favors the Under with this MLB prop as the model projects 3.8 strikeouts for Kershaw.
If you want even more MLB picks, SportsLine’s top MLB expert, Matt Severance, is heating up. Get his best bets for Friday, all from the expert who is 165-89 on his last 254 MLB picks (+1927).
James Wood Over 0.5 RBI (+175)
No player in all of baseball has more RBI than Wood over the last seven days as he’s driven in 11 Nationals over that stretch. That includes himself four times via home runs, as he had a two-homer, four-RBI night on Thursday. Wood also racked up seven RBI during a three-game series versus the Dodgers in April, including a career-high of five in one of those games, which was also a two-home run outing. Additionally, while many left-handed batters struggle versus fellow lefty pitchers, such as Kershaw, that’s not the case with Wood who is hitting .284 versus LHBs and .283 versus RHBs.
You’ve now seen two best bets for Dodgers vs. Nationals on Friday. Now, get picks for every single game from the model that enters Week 13 of the 2025 MLB season on a 37-30 run on top-rated MLB run-line picks.
Shohei Ohtani Over 1.5 total bases (-105)
Gore has had an All-Star caliber season with a sub-3.00 ERA and leading the NL in strikeouts. However, he looked like a September call-up when he last saw Ohtani. When the two faced off in April, the three-time MVP nearly hit for the cycle off the southpaw pitcher as Ohtani logged a single, double and home run off Gore alone. The eight total bases for the two-way player in the game are tied for his season high, and things will only get easier for Ohtani to go Over 1.5 TB once Washington transitions to its relievers. The Nats’ bullpen ERA of 5.77 is the second-highest in baseball making this MLB prop one hard to pass up on with a FanDuel promo code.
