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Nationals-Dodgers Preview

May 7, 2009 - 5:57 PM Washington (7-18) at Los Angeles (21-8), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Everything was going so well for the Los Angeles Dodgers until Thursday.

On the heels of Manny Ramirez's 50-game drug suspension, Los Angeles must overcome that notable loss and huge distraction in the midst of a very impressive start to the season.

It would be hard to imagine Ramirez's absence not playing a role in cooling off the Dodgers, and the first test comes Thursday night when they face the Washington Nationals.

Los Angeles (21-8) owns the best record in the majors, has won seven in a row and set a modern-day major league record with its 13-0 start at home.

Ramirez played a big role in that success, batting .393 with six homers and 16 RBIs over the last 17 games. His big bat in the No. 3 spot also may have had something to do with the hot starts of No. 2 hitter Orlando Hudson (.342 average, 23 runs) and cleanup man Andre Ethier (.317, six homers and 27 RBIs).

Now the Dodgers lineup will be missing Ramirez at least until July 3 after Major League Baseball suspended him for 50 games due to a drug violation.

"Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players' union.

"Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility."

Ramirez apologized to the Dodgers organization and its fans, though surely his teammates and coaches will be peppered with questions about the situation in the coming days. Whereas all the talk surrounding the team had been so positive, now much of the attention will turn to Ramirez's indiscretion.

"LA is a special place to me, and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I," Ramirez said. "I'm sorry about this whole situation."

Ramirez had two RBIs on Wednesday in a 10-3 win over Washington to open this two-game set.

It was the Dodgers' 13th straight home win to open the season, surpassing the 12-0 record of the 1911 Detroit Tigers.

They're looking to match their best overall start since the 1977 club opened 24-6 and won the NL pennant. The 1983 Dodgers started 22-8.

Los Angeles also seeks an 11th consecutive home victory over Washington (7-18), which hasn't won at Dodger Stadium since a 5-2 victory May 4, 2005.

"The only thing you're uneasy about is a team coming in and everybody assuming it's a pushover because they haven't got a very good record," manager Joe Torre said, whose Dodgers have outscored their opponents 38-15 during the seven-game win streak.

Hudson is hitting .387 (12 for 31) with eight RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

Randy Wolf (1-1, 3.93 ERA), who hasn't factored in his last four decisions, takes the mound for Los Angeles on Thursday.

He allowed two hits - including a home run - in 5 1-3 innings of a 2-1, 10-inning victory over San Diego on Saturday.

"He's a pro," Torre told the Dodgers' official Web site. "I can trust him and I think that's the highest praise I can pay him."

The left-hander is 9-4 with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts versus the Nationals franchise.

Washington's Ryan Zimmerman is 2 for 6 against Wolf and singled Wednesday to extend his franchise-record hitting streak to 24 games. He's batting .353 during that span.

Washington rookie Jordan Zimmermann (2-1, 4.24) looks to bounce back from his first loss when he makes his fourth career start.

The right-hander allowed five runs and eight hits - including three home runs - while striking out six in 5 2-3 innings of a 6-2 loss to St. Louis on Friday.

"Up here, they don't miss hardly as much as they do (in the minors)," said Zimmermann, who had yielded one homer over 11 1-3 innings in his first two starts. "You can't make those mistakes up here."