The Los Angeles Dodgers took the field in Game 1 of the National League Division Series and proved why they were the best team in the league all season, defeating the Washington Nationals in every facet of the game en route to a 6-0 victory.
Walker Buehler was dominant, setting the tone for the series with six shutout innings to give the Dodgers a 1-0 series lead. Winning Game 1 doesn’t mean all that much if you can’t also win Game 2 to maintain home-field advantage though, so it is now up to Clayton Kershaw to follow up Buehler’s performance.
Kershaw is coming off another strong season in which he went 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA, 3.86 FIP and 1.04 WHIP in 29 games (28 starts). He struck out 189 compared to just 41 walks in 178.1 total innings.
The veteran’s postseason struggles are well-documented as he is 9-10 with a 4.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 30 career games (24 starts). Kershaw has had his most success in the NLDS though, posting a 3.72 ERA in 12 outings (11 starts).
Kershaw has dominated the Nationals throughout the course of his career, going 12-3 with a 2.23 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 17 games against them. He faced them once this season in Washington in July, tossing six innings of two-run ball while giving up three hits with nine strikeouts and three walks.
Getting the start for the Nationals is Stephen Strasburg, and he is on short rest after throwing three scoreless innings in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday night. He only threw 34 pitches though so shouldn’t be on any sort of pitch count in Game 2.
Strasburg led the NL in wins in 2019, going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA, 3.25 FIP and 1.04 WHIP with 251 strikeouts and 56 walks in 209 innings across 33 starts. The right-hander has had success in the postseason, yielding just a 0.41 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 22 innings in four October games (three starts).
He faced the Dodgers twice this season and gave up a combined three runs in 13 innings across the two starts, pitching six innings of two-run ball at Dodger Stadium in May. In 11 career starts against Los Angeles, the 31-year-old is 3-5 with a 2.54 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.
The Dodgers position player that has had the most success against Strasburg in his career is A.J. Pollock as he is 7-for-14 with a home run. Justin Turner has also fared well, going 4-for-14 with two home runs.
With a right-hander on the mound, Joc Pederson and Gavin Lux are in the Dodgers lineup, as expected. Both players homered coming off the bench in Game 1 of the series, and for Lux, it came in his first career postseason at-bat.
Buehler and the Dodgers bullpen did a nice job of limiting the Nationals offense to just two hits in the shutout victory in Game 1. Kershaw looks to do the same, and that starts with retiring Anthony Rendon, who is 5-for-19 against him lifetime.
Rendon was one of the best players in baseball this season, hitting .319/.412/.598 with 44 doubles, 34 home runs, 117 runs scored and 126 RBI. He slumped a bit to end the season and went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in Game 1.
Dodgers lineup:
RF: Joc Pederson
3B: Justin Turner
LF: A.J. Pollock
CF: Cody Bellinger
1B: Max Muncy
C: Will Smith
SS: Corey Seager
2B: Gavin Lux
P: Clayton Kershaw
Nationals lineup:
SS: Trea Turner
RF: Adam Eaton
3B: Anthony Rendon
LF: Juan Soto
2B: Howie Kendrick
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
C: Kurt Suzuki
CF: Victor Robles
P: Stephen Strasburg
