(Best E Casino) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to get back to the .500 mark this afternoon, when they shoot for a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals at Chavez Ravine.

Los Angeles is just one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West standings, and has won two straight, four of six and six of its last nine games. In Saturday's 6-0 blanking over the Nats, Matt Kemp and Nomar Garciaparra each homered to power LA to victory.

Angel Berroa also drove in a run for the Dodgers, while Casey Blake made his Dodgers debut and went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Blake was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for two minor leaguers. To make room for Blake on the roster, the Dodgers optioned third baseman Blake DeWitt to Triple-A Las Vegas. DeWitt was demoted despite hitting .257 with five homers and 35 RBI in 88 games, winning NL rookie honors for the month of May.

Starter Derek Lowe tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts and a walk. Lowe also helped his cause with an RBI single.

Taking the hill for the Dodgers today will be rookie Clayton Kershaw, who is 0-3 with a 5.18 earned run average in nine starts this season. Kershaw last pitched on July 22 at Colorado and was rocked for five runs and 10 hits in just three innings of a 10-1 loss.

The left-hander has never faced the Nationals.

Washington has dropped five in a row and will try to avoid getting swept in consecutive series. It entered this set fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants.

On Saturday, Ronnie Belliard and Willie Harris collected the lone hits for the Nationals. Starting pitcher Odalis Perez dropped his third decision in four starts, yielding six runs over four innings of work.

Taking the ball for the Nats on Sunday will be Jason Bergmann, who has lost his previous six decisions and hasn't won since May 15 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. Bergmann is 1-7 with a 4.21 ERA this season and allowed five runs -- four earned -- over five frames in a 6-3 loss at San Francisco on July 22.

Bergmann, a right-hander, faced the Dodgers once in his career and surrendered three runs in six innings for a no-decision. Washington is only 2-14 when Bergmann starts this season.

Washington and Los Angeles squaring off for the first time since the Dodgers won five of six games during the 2007 campaign.