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Nationals-Dodgers Preview

May 6, 2009 - 6:32 AM By ANDY LEFKOWITZ STATS Editor

Washington (7-17) at Los Angeles (20-8), 10:10 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Dodgers have tied the modern-day mark for the longest home winning streak at the start of a season. Extending another lengthy run will have them alone in the record book.

Los Angeles looks to move to 13-0 at home and win its 10th straight at Dodger Stadium over the NL-worst Washington Nationals on Wednesday night in the start of a two-game set.

By defeating Arizona 3-1 on Tuesday, the Dodgers (20-8) matched the 1911 Detroit Tigers with 12 consecutive home wins to open a season. Los Angeles has jumped out to a 5 1/2-game lead in the NL West - the largest division lead in the major leagues.

"It's something to admire when you look back on something, and know that there you are. You're in the record books and you were a part of that team that did it," manager Joe Torre said. "But while you're involved in it, you don't want it to stop there. You hope you can extend it beyond that. But you don't live for the streak."

The Dodgers, though, may feel that way when they play at home versus Washington. They haven't lost to the Nationals in Los Angeles since May 4, 2005 - Washington's first season after moving from Montreal.

Washington (7-17), which begins an eight-game western swing, was tied 10-10 with Houston in the 11th inning Tuesday before the game was suspended by rain. It will be resumed July 9 in Houston with the Nationals as the home team.

"Both teams were kind of going back and forth," said Washington's Ryan Zimmerman, who extended his hitting streak to 23 games and is batting .333.

Zimmerman is 2-for-5 in his career against Clayton Kershaw (0-2, 5.46 ERA), who will try to build on one of his best outings of 2009 as he tries for his first win since Sept. 24.

The left-hander allowed four hits and walked two over seven innings Friday, but didn't get a decision as the Dodgers scored on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth for a 1-0 victory over San Diego.

Kershaw is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two career starts against Washington, with the win coming at Dodger Stadium. He scattered four hits and walked one over six innings of a 2-0 victory July 27.

The Nationals' Daniel Cabrera (0-2, 4.44) has had a history of wildness, but he brought that to a new level in his last start. The right-hander set a team record with four wild pitches Thursday in a 9-4 loss to St. Louis.

"(Cabrera) was trying to do too much with that breaking ball," pitching coach Randy St. Claire told Washington's official Web site. "He was bouncing them into the dirt and trying to do too much with it."

Though he limited the Cardinals to three runs and four hits in six innings, Cabrera issued a season-high five bases on balls. That leaves him five walks shy of 500 for his career, which began in 2004 with Baltimore.

The Nationals are 0-5 when Cabrera starts, but they've given him just 13 runs of support in those games.

Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez is hitting .333 (7-for-21) with a home run, four RBIs and four walks in his career against Cabrera.