Washington Nationals’ lineup for 3rd of 4 with the Los Angeles Dodgers...

Washington’s Nationals ran into a right-hander last night who kept them in check with Los Angeles Dodgers’ starter Kenta Maeda giving up just one hit and two walks in a six-inning outing in what ended up a 5-0 win. So was it just a tip your cap kind of night in LA?

“He was good,” Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez told reporters after the loss in Dodger Stadium.

“Kept our hitters off-balance, worked ahead, only gave up one hit through six, so I mean he was pretty good.”

Nats’ starter Aníbal Sánchez gave up just six hits and three runs in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings in the losing effort, with Joc Pederson taking the righty deep twice.

Pederson was struggling in recent weeks, going just 3 for 30 over his last 12 games (seven starts) before connecting for his 11th and 12th home runs of the season last night.

Max Scherzer will be tasked with trying to keep the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter in the yard in the third game of four in Chavez Ravine.

“He’s got power,” Martinez said of Pederson. “He tries to get the ball up and right now he’s just not missing those pitches.”

Martinez’s squad lost their sixth game of eight on the current road trip, and fell to 8-12 in 20 games outside of D.C. this season with two to go in Dodger Stadium before they return to the nation’s capital, where they’re 7-11 so far in 2019.

Will they be able to end the trip on a high note with a series win in LA? Scherzer will try to snap a five-start winless streak, over which he’s (0-2) with the Nationals 0-5 in his outings, but the Nationals are going up against 24-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler, who’s won four of seven outings thus far (4-0), with a 4.95 ERA and .231/.283/.366 line against in 36 ¹⁄₃ IP.

NOTES: Juan Soto is back in left, so Gerardo Parra is playing first, something Davey Martinez said might happen when the Nats signed Parra...

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 3RD OF 4 IN LOS ANGELES: