Max Scherzer wasn’t quite overpowering but he settled into a stellar start that helped the Washington Nationals stave off elimination with a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers that forced the 2019 National League Division Series to a Game 5.
With the Nationals bullpen a weakness, Scherzer essentially removed them from the equation by going seven innings. He surrendered a home run to Justin Turner in the first inning and allowed a leadoff double in the second, but essentially stymied the Dodgers from there.
The homer was Turner’s ninth of his career in the postseason, which trails only Duke Snider (11) and Steve Garvey (10) for most in Dodgers franchise history.
After stranding Seager, L.A.’s next opportunity to score came when Cody Bellinger started the fourth inning with a single followed by a stolen base. The backbreaker was Matt Beaty flying to shallow left field on a 3-0 pitch for the second out.
The first 13 batters against Scherzer went 3-for-11 with a double, home run, intentional walk and one strikeout. However, the next six after that were 0-for-9 with five strikeouts through six innings.
Dodgers rookies attempted to spark a rally in the seventh as Scherzer began to fatigue, but the end result was leaving the bases loaded without scoring and their deficit remaining 6-1. He did benefit from Joc Pederson’s jam shot down the right-field line landing just foul.
Instead of a potential bases-clearing double, Pederson grounded out to end the inning.
While the Nationals leaned on Scherzer to provide length, the Dodgers were hopeful to squeeze a mere four innings out of Rich Hill. He fell short of that, failing to make it out of the third but with the game tied after Anthony Rendon’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.
Kenta Maeda got the Dodgers out of trouble and completed a scoreless fourth inning, only for the bullpen to falter in the fifth. Julio Urias didn’t have his usual crispness in a back-to-back appearance, and Rendon’s RBI single broke the 1-1 tie.
Urias was removed after Howie Kendrick’s single put runners at the corners with one out, and Pedro Baez promptly allowed a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman. Rendon’s sacrifice fly in the sixth gave the Nationals their final run of the night.
