Dodgers 3, Nationals 2
Matt Kemp went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .452 and National League Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw pitched eight solid innings for his 12th straight win at home as Los Angeles prevailed in a battle of first-place teams.
Andre Ethier hit a two-run homer and Juan Uribe's infield hit drove in Kemp in the fourth and proved to be the difference as the Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak.
Kershaw (2-0) yielded two runs, three hits and struck out six in eight innings.
Adam LaRoche became the first player to homer off Kershaw this season when he hit a two-run blast in the sixth for the Nationals, who have lost two straight after winning four in a row.
After Kemp singled with two outs in the first, Ethier drove a 1-0 pitch from Ross Detwiler over the right field wall. Detwiler (2-1) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.
Kenley Jensen pitched the ninth for his first save, but had to survive Danny Espinosa's foul ball that missed the right field foul pole by inches. Jensen has five holds and was filling in for Javy Guerra, who took a line drive off the jaw Wednesday.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bryce Harper, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft by Washington, will make his major league debut Saturday. Harper will take the roster spot of Ryan Zimmerman, who will go on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. ... Dodgers left fielder Juan Rivera missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury. ... Ethier's homer was his first off a left-hander since July 10, 2011, when he connected off San Diego's Josh Spence. ... LaRoche has 600 career RBIs. ... The Dodgers committed three errors.