After the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals each won a game on the road over the past week, the National League Divisional Series comes down to a deciding Game 5. For Washington, their clinching home-field advantage was for a moment like this.
They hand the ball to 20-game winner Max Scherzer, who takes the mound on five days’ rest. Nationals manager Dusty Baker saved his ace for a winner-take-all contest, and Scherzer didn’t shy away from calling it the most important start of his life.
In Game 1, the 32-year-old allowed four runs on five hits, including two home runs and one hit batter. “He’s a big-game pitcher. Our guys realize that. But having known that we have gotten to him before, and recently, I think that that bodes good for us and our psyche,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“But if he executes pitches, it’s going to be tough. So I think that he’s going to come in with a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotion, and the velocity is going to play up early. So for us, it’s just a matter of trying to stay in the strike zone. I think that, you know, if he makes mistakes in the strike zone, I like our chances. And if we go out of the strike zone, it’s going to be a little bit tougher for us.”
Scherzer sported a 4.24 ERA during the first inning this season, which was his highest mark in any frame. Hanging over Scherzer’s head is his 7.20 ERA in three elimination games. His team lost each contest. Baker downplayed any concern over Scherzer potentially over-pitching in light of the intense setting.
“Yeah, you think about it, but what are you going to do? You can’t give him a Valium or something and tell him to chill,” Baker said. “He has to work that nervous energy out of him.
“Max is an amped-up kind of guy, but I’d rather have — I mean, his ampedness, if there is such a word, has worked pretty good for him over the course of his career, and he is a 20-game winner. You know, I’m sure a lot of teams would have liked to have Max pitch this exciting game right here.”
Entering Thursday, Baker has been at the helm for eight straight losses in closeout games.
After Clayton Kershaw started on short rest in Game 4, Rich Hill now does the honor in the decisive game. Hill was adamant about taking the ball for Game 5, dismissing any concern over starting on three days’ rest for the first time in his career.
In Game 2, Hill saw a quality outing washed away on one mistake. A hanging curveball to Jose Lobaton resulted in a massive three-run home run to give the Nationals a lead they never let go of.
Overall in the start, the 36-year-old southpaw allowed four runs on six hits, with two walks and two hit batters. Hill figures to be on a short leash, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicating there’s a strong likelihood Julio Urias will be among the relievers utilized.
Aside from how Baker and Roberts manage their pitching staffs, Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner and Jayson Werth are among those to watch at the plate. Murphy is 6-for-13 with six RBIs and three walks during the NLDS. He went 2-for-2 with an RBI single and walk off Hill in Game 2.
Werth is 7-for-15 with two doubles, one home run and three RBIs through the first four games. As for Turner, he again has been the Dodgers’ best hitter in the postseason. Through the NLDS thus far, he’s 5-for-11 with one home run, three RBIs and four walks.
Turner hit a two-run homer off Scherzer in Game 1. “He is a guy that’s hard to figure out on how to pitch, because, you know, he must be a very smart hitter for us to not really — for us or anybody else to really get a read on him,” Baker said of Turner.
“Because sometimes he’s sitting inside, sometimes he’s sitting outside, sometimes he’s sitting a breaking ball, other times he’s hitting fastball. I mean, he is a professional hitter and that’s what professional hitters do. You just have to mix it up on him.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
RF: Josh Reddick
CF: Joc Pederson
C: Yasmani Grandal
LF: Andrew Toles
P: Rich Hill
Nationals lineup:
CF: Trea Turner
RF: Bryce Harper
LF: Jayson Werth
2B: Daniel Murphy
3B: Anthony Rendon
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
SS: Danny Espinosa
C: Jose Lobaton
P: Max Scherzer
