Washington (46-58) at Los Angeles (49-55)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping they’ve finally shaken off a frustrating slump.

The Dodgers try for a three-game sweep Sunday when they wrap up their series with the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles (49-55) won the first two games in this series, including Saturday’s 7-5 victory, after dropping a season-worst eight in a row. The Dodgers were swept by St. Louis and San Diego in the first six games of their current homestand, which ends with this contest.

In their first two games against the Nationals, the Dodgers have scored 20 runs while allowing just six. They were outscored 51-16 during their eight-game slide.

“We know we got ourselves in a position where it’s an uphill battle,” manager Grady Little said. “We’ve got to win games and keep winning games.”

Rookie catcher Russell Martin homered and drove in four runs, and Rafael Furcal also connected for the Dodgers, who had lost 13 of 14 before this series. Martin is batting .298 with five homers and 44 RBIs since he was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on May 5.

“I’m happy with my consistency,” Martin said. “I just saw the ball well today and I put good swings on it. And good things happen when you do that. It’s a long season, and I’m aware of that. But I just care about winning.”

The Nationals (46-58) are heading in the opposite direction—they entered the series on a season-high six-game winning streak. Nick Johnson hit a two-run homer in the first inning Saturday, but the Dodgers scored four in the bottom of the frame.

“It’s very deflating to give it right back—and we’ve been doing a lot of that over the year,” manager Frank Robinson said. “The idea is that when you score runs, go out there and shut them down and give us a chance to get back in the dugout and ride that little wave of momentum.”

Ramon Ortiz (7-9, 4.87 ERA) will look to help Washington salvage a win. He allowed five runs and two homers in six innings of Tuesday’s 8-6 win over the San Francisco Giants, ending a three-start losing streak.

“It wasn’t one of his better performances, but he hung in there and gave us six innings. He never gave up the lead. That’s the good thing,” Robinson said.

Ortiz, who compiled a 3.86 ERA during his losing streak, is 2-1 with a 3.02 ERA in seven career appearances, including six starts, against the Dodgers—his best ERA against any NL team. He gave up three runs in seven innings of a 10-4 win May 28.

Los Angeles will counter with Mark Hendrickson (0-4, 4.97), who allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings of Tuesday’s 7-3 loss to the San Diego Padres. Hendrickson is still looking for his first win since being acquired by the Dodgers in a June 27 trade with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He went 4-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 13 starts for Tampa Bay.

“Hendrickson was good,” manager Grady Little said Tuesday. “He kept us competitive in the ballgame and kept us right in there. It wasn’t quite enough.”

Hendrickson made his only career start against the Nationals franchise on June 21, 2003, while with the Toronto Blue Jays. He allowed one run in six innings but did not receive a decision in Toronto’s 8-5 loss in Montreal.