WASHINGTON -- The Los Angeles Dodgers went with their hard-hat lineup Wednesday, loading the batter's box with right-handed hitters against Washington Nationals left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez.

Chris Taylor was at second base, Charlie Culberson was at shortstop, Scott Van Slyke was in right field and Howie Kendrick continued with his rebirth in left. There would be no continuity on this night, though, as the Dodgers were unable to sustain the momentum they appeared to build with an offensive outburst in a victory Tuesday.

While better with the bats of late, the Dodgers still are looking for ways to keep run production flowing for extended periods. It will be a must as they continue on for an undetermined amount of time without ace starter Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers also learned Wednesday that Alex Wood probably won't be able to return until the tail end of September, and even if he does, a relief role seems likely. And there continues to be no timetable for the return of Andre Ethier, who suffered a fractured right tibia in spring training.

The Dodgers were further hampered Wednesday by the absence of standout rookie Corey Seager, out the past two days with a stomach virus of unknown origin.

At some point, the Dodgers figure to turn around their unfortunate injury situation, but on Wednesday they lost one more when reliever Chris Hatcher went on the disabled list with an oblique strain.

It gave Culberson his second chance to join the club this season after making the Opening Day roster. Culberson took advantage by driving in the Dodgers' only run in a 7-1 defeat. But then the offense went dry, not counting Kendrick's eighth-inning double, which extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Kendrick is batting a major league-leading .414 in July, far distancing himself from his first 27 games of the season, when he had a .188 batting average with a lone extra-base hit. And although Justin Turner went hitless Wednesday, he did hit the ball hard. He entered batting .326 since June 7 and was tied for the National League lead in that stretch in home runs (12) and RBIs (33).

So while there still are offensive inconsistencies, is the offense really better?

"I think so," Roberts said. "You look up and down the lineup, guys are putting at-bats together, guys are getting hits. We got the pitch count up, and Gio made pitches when he needed to. Even Van Slyke, Kendrick, J.T., all these guys are having good at-bats and getting on base. Yasiel [Puig] is doing the same thing. I think that as a group offensively, we're in a pretty good place, and tomorrow we have a chance to win a series."

Yes, while the Nationals put on an offensive show Wednesday with four home runs, including a mammoth shot from Bryce Harper, the Dodgers still can win the series. But they were poised to do that in Arizona, too, last weekend and let the opportunity slip away.

The four home runs allowed by Dodgers pitchers tied a season high (June 2 at Wrigley Field). The eight runs were the most Dodgers pitchers have allowed since June 24.

And since June 24, the Dodgers have outscored their opponents 100-90, showing how they really are trending in the right direction.

So while the Dodgers' pitching kept the team afloat in the first half, the offense has a chance to return the favor. It's their best chance for success moving forward. Well, that and some good health for a change.