WASHINGTON NATIONALS
1. Trea Turner (R) CF
2. Jayson Werth (R) LF
3. Daniel Murphy (L) 2B
4. Bryce Harper (L) RF
5. Anthony Rendon (R) 3B
6. Ryan Zimmerman (R) 1B
7. Danny Espinosa (S) SS
8. Jose Lobaton (S) C
9. Gio Gonzalez (R) P
LOS ANGELES DOGERS
1. Howie Kendrick (R) LF
2. Justin Turner (R) 3B
3. Corey Seager (L) SS
4. Yasiel Puig (R) RF
5. Adrian Gonzalez (L) 1B
6. Yasmani Grandal (S) C
7. Charlie Culberson (R) 2B
8. Joc Pederson (L) CF
9. Kenta Maeda (R) P
Gametime Forecast: 81°F • Clear • 0% PoP 
ESPN PREVIEW
Daniel Murphy is 4-for-6 in the first two games and the Dodgers are 1-for-14 against left-handed pitching in this series. Now the series shifts to Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon for Game 3 and not only will the Dodgers have to face Murphy three or four more times, their hitters will have to face left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez.
In seven postseason games against the Dodgers, Murphy is 11-for-27 (.408) with three home runs and five RBI. He was 7-for-21 last year for the Mets, hit two home runs in Los Angeles and had three hits in two RBI in Sunday's 5-2 win.
Meanwhile getting the left-handed hitting second baseman out has hardly been the only issue for Los Angeles, which is tied heading into Game 3 for the fourth straight season.
After finishing the regular season with an MLB-worst .213 average against left-handed pitching, the Dodgers have not been productive when facing southpaw relievers Sammy Solis, Marc Rzepcynski and Oliver Perez.
Solis held the Dodgers to one hit in seven at-bats in the series opener and retired Adrian Gonzalez for the final out of the sixth with two on. Rzepcynski issued three walks Sunday but struck out Yasmani Grandal and retired Howie Kendrick with the bases loaded in the fifth before retiring Charlie Culberson and Corey Seager in the sixth.
Gonzalez is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five career starts against the Dodgers. On Aug. 10, 2015, he allowed seven hits over eight shutout innings in an 8-3 win at Los Angeles and on July 20 in Washington, Gonzalez allowed one run and three hits in six innings of an 8-1 victory. The hitters on the Dodgers' postseason roster have combined for a .163 average (23-for-141) against Gonzalez. Gonzalez is 2-for-17, Yasiel Puig is 1-for-11, Utley is 3-for-20 and Justin Turner is 2-for-19.
"It's never easy facing that lineup," Gonzalez said. "I would never say, hey, just go out there and pitch. You definitely have to some have common sense to throw some of these guys. You can't just groove a fastball right down the middle." The hitter with the best numbers against Gonzalez is catcher Carlos Ruiz, who is 7-for-29 (.241).
Gonzalez was 11-11 with a 4.57 ERA during the regular season and was 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA in his last three starts. Against left-handed hitters, he gave up a .241 average with one home run. Monday will be Gonzalez's fourth postseason start for the Nationals and he has a 3.21 ERA in three no-decisions in the playoffs. He started Games 1 and 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 and two years ago Gonzalez pitched four scoreless innings in the Game 4 loss at San Francisco.
Even if Los Angeles struggles against Gonzalez and other left-handed pitching, it might have the edge in starting pitching by sending Kenta Maeda to the mound. Maeda went 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts during his rookie campaign. He led the Dodgers in wins, innings (175 2/3) and strikeouts (179). Maeda also led qualifying rookie starters with a .229 opponents' batting average, a 1.14 WHIP and a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Maeda also was the only Dodger to make every start.
