WASHINGTON -- Casey Blake sat at his locker on Monday in Philadelphia after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, taking the blame for a 2-for-20 slump that coincided with the Dodgers' offensive struggles.

"I just haven't been very good the last week or so," Blake said at the time. "It's a product of just trying to do too much, not having a real good plan up there at the plate. I need a better plan up there at the plate."

Blake showed signs of breaking out of that slump on Wednesday night, hitting his first home run since a 3-for-4, two-RBI game on Aug. 15.

Maybe more importantly for a Dodgers club that had been 4-for-48 with runners in scoring position in its past four games up to that point, he blooped a run-scoring single with two outs in the eighth to cut the Nats' lead to 5-4, exactly the kind of hit Los Angeles has not been getting this whole road trip.

"I'm feeling better," said Blake, who has reached base three times in each of the last two games. "I'm just a little more focused."

The acquisition of Blake, who will now be pushed at third by recently recalled infielder Blake DeWitt, was seen as a stabilizing force at the bottom of the Dodgers' lineup, an underrated move that got overshadowed by the Manny Ramirez deal.

His continued return to form will be important for the Dodgers as they aim to finish their three-game set against the Nationals on Thursday with a win before heading to Phoenix on Friday for a showdown series against the first-place D-backs.

"He seems to be a little more under control right now," said manager Joe Torre.

Pitching matchup
LAD: LHP Clayton Kershaw (2-4, 4.11 ERA)
After five straight quality outings, Kershaw encountered some difficulties on Saturday in Philly, allowing six runs on seven hits in four-plus innings. He pitched fairly well after giving up a three-run homer three batters into the game, but a ball misplayed by Matt Kemp in center led to the three other runs. Kershaw entered the game with a 1.45 ERA in his five previous starts, beginning with his first career Major League win July 27 against the Nationals, when he threw six shutout innings.

WSH: LHP John Lannan (7-12, 3.95 ERA)
Lannan had a so-so start, as he allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Cubs last Friday. Chicago didn't waste time scoring runs against him. In the first inning, Alfonso Soriano swiped home on a double steal for the game's first run. Two innings later, Derrek Lee drilled a home run over the left-field wall. After watching his team score the six runs in the sixth, Lannan settled down a little bit. Lannan needed just 84 pitches to get through the mediocre outing.

Tidbits
The Dodgers have lost eight straight road games. They had last lost eight straight road games from June 14-21, 2005. ... Los Angeles has averaged 2.1 runs per game in its past nine contests, eight of them losses. ... The Dodgers had won 11 of 12 against the Nats before losing the first two games of this series. ... Torre was unsure if he would give anybody a day off on Thursday in advance of the Dodgers' showdown series against the D-backs. Earlier in the week he spoke of wanting to give catcher Russell Martin, second baseman Jeff Kent and third baseman Blake a day off, but he has since said there's a difference between wanting to and actually doing so. ... Andre Ethier's 3-for-5 game on Wednesday night snapped his 5-for-31 skid. ... Greg Maddux dropped to 0-7 with a 4.39 ERA against the National League East after Wednesday's loss. The Dodgers' NL East schedule concludes with Thursday's series finale. ... Rafael Furcal missed his 100th game of the season with an injured lower back on Wednesday. He will work out with the team this weekend at Chase Field, and Torre is still hopeful he can contribute in a part-time role later in the year. ... Nine Dodgers will play for the Surprise Raptors in the Arizona Fall League. They are infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr., catcher Lucas May, outfielder Andrew Lambo, right-handers Justin Orenduff and Travis Schlichting and left-handers Scott Elbert and Brent Leach. Infielder Russ Mitchell and outfielder Jamie Hoffman will play on the club's taxi squad, meaning they will only be available on Wednesdays and Sundays. ... Lambo was named to the Class A Midwest League's All-Star team after hitting .288 with 15 homers, 33 doubles and 79 RBIs in 123 games for Class A Great Lakes.

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Up next
• Friday: Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 7-9, 3.87) at Diamondbacks (Doug Davis, 5-8, 4.63), 6:40 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 12-10, 3.15) at Diamondbacks (Dan Haren, 14-6, 3.10), 5:10 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Dodgers (Derek Lowe, 10-11, 3.81) at Diamondbacks (Brandon Webb, 19-5, 2.96), 5:05 p.m. PT