NL East and West divisions collide in this NLDS match up. The most expensive team in the MLB the Los Angeles Dodgers vs the Washington Nationals. Neither team is a stranger to the playoffs, both have also had their struggles, but only one can come out on top.
Game 1
The meeting of 2 Cy Young winners goes down in game 1; 2 time winner Clayton Kershaw vs 1 time winner Max Scherzer. Historically, Scherzer has been more solid in the playoffs, but the Nationals only saw Kershaw once this season and he held them to a 1.57 ERA.
The Dodgers would be the first to get on the board with a home run off the bat of rookie Corey Seager. 1-0 Dodgers. That run would be the first of 3 scored without any recourse from the Nationals. In the 3rd, Chase Utley would single in Andrew Toles and Justin Turner would hit a 2 run shot to score Seagar. 4-0 Dodgers. Later in the 3rd that Nationals would respond and come within 1 run of the by way of a 2 run single by Anthony Rendon and a sac fly by Trea Turner. 4-3 Dodgers. Those would be the only run scored this game and the Dodgers would take game 1.
W: Kershaw (1-0) L: Scherzer (0-1) S: Jansen (1)
Game 2
The Dodgers started game 2 in a similar fashion as game 1, with a solo home run by Seager. 1-0 Dodgers. In the 3rd LA would strike again on a single line drive to right to score Justin Turner. 2-0 Dodgers. These would be the last runs the Dodgers would bring to the board because in the 4th the Nationals would open the run flood gate.
Catcher Jose Lobaton would start with a 3 run shot to left. 3-2 Nationals. In the 5th Daniel Murphy singled to center to score Trea Turner. 4-2 Nationals. Then in the 7th Murphy would strike again with another single that scored Jayson Werth. The Score of 5-2 Nationals would close out game 2 and tie up the series.
W: Treinen (1-0) L: Hill (0-1) S: Melancon (1)
Game 3
Like clockwork, Seager would knock in the first run in the 1st, this time via a double to score Justin Turner. 1-0 Dodgers. But the run flood gate would open in the 3rd for the Nationals. First Werth would double to right to score Trea Turner; then Bryce Harper would single and drive in Werth, and to close out the inning Rendon would homer to score Harper. Just like that, Nationals are up 4-1.
In the 5th that Dodgers would gain some ground by way of the 2 run shot by Carlos Ruiz bringing the score to 4-3 Nationals, but their hopes of winning game 3 were dashed in the 9th when again the Nationals flood gate opened. The wave of runs began with a solo homer by Werth. Ryan Zimmerman would then hit a long single that allowed Murphy and Harper to score. The final nail in the Dodgers coffin was a sac fly by Chris Heisey to score Howie Kendrick. Final score 8-3 Nationals and now they lead the series 2-1. The weakness in the Dodgers bullpen was no doubt revealed in game 3.
W: Solis (1-0) L: Maeda (0-1)
Game 4
It’s do or die for the Dodgers in game 4. If they don’t tie it up their playoff dreams will be dashed and the Nationals will be moving on to the NLCS.
The Nationals start in early in the 1st with a single off the bat of Daniel Murphy to score Trea Turner. The Dodger would take their first lead in that very same inning when Adrian Gonzalez would go yard for 2 to score Justin Turner. 2-1 Dodgers. In the 3rd, Murphy would once again work his magic with a sac fly that would allow Turner to score and tie up the game 2-2. The game would not be tied long because later in the 3rd the Dodgers Turner would also hit a fly ball that would bring start Kershaw home. 3-2 Dodgers. The Joc Pederson would be hit by a pitch to walk in Turner. 4-2 Dodgers. Pederson would be back in the 5th to double and further help the Dodgers pull away from the Nationals. 5-2 Dodgers.
In the 7th, the Nationals would see redemption and tie up the game when Werth would be hit by a pitch and Murphy would get his 3rd RBI hit of the game. 5-5. The 8th inning would seal the deal for a Dodgers win when CHase Utley would hit the game winning single to score Andrew Toles. Series is not ties 2-2 and they would head back to DC for the finally.
Game 5
It’s do or die for Dodger and the Nationals. The Nationals started out hot in the 2nd with a single by Danny Espinosa to score Daniel Murphy; Nats up 1-0. This lead would be stable until the 7th when the Dodgers would come out of left field and score 4 runs. The scoring would start with a solo home run by Joc Pederson, then Ruiz would single to score Austin Barnes, and to close out the inning Justin Turner would triple to score Trea Turner and Howie Kendrick; Dodgers are up 4-1. The Nationals would threaten to come back in the 7th with Chris Heisey would hit a solo shot to begin to close the run gap, but it would have amount to much. Kershaw would come in for the save and the score would remain 4-2 and the Dodgers would go on to win. They will go on to play the Cubs on Saturday for game 1 of the NLCS.
W: Urias (1-0) L: Rzepczynski (0-1) S: Kershaw (1)
