That really was a great game. I was a bit pessimistic going in. I was afraid Scherzer would shut the Dodgers down, while the Nats would score on the various few-inning pitchers the Dodgers would throw up against them.
For 6 innings, I was correct.
Then there was that 66-minute 7th inning (!!) and all hell broke loose.
Justin Turner really is a postseason monster. Sample size still small, but he owned the Mets hard last year, and this year he killed the Nats. Every at-bat looked good (aside from that weird bunt on Tuesday). How about that 13-pitch AB where he fouled it off 8 times, and finally walked? Scherzer threw everything but the kitchen sink at him, and Turner just kept ripping fouls. You could see the exasperation of Scherzer's face. It was saying, "WTF... there is no way to get anything in the strike zone by this guy."
And that's when Scherzer was totally on his game.
He's just a really tough out, and he's also got power. He's the Dodgers' version of Daniel Murphy -- at least in the postseason.
Great series. Only complaint was the length of each game, and the painfully slow pace. But the last two were exciting nonetheless.
Bryce Harper choked for the most part. Came up so many times when he could have made an impact, but seemed to either make an out or walk.
Murphy was once again a killer, even though he blew his final AB.
With just 7 pitchers, Kershaw has somewhat negated the perception that everything goes wrong for him in the postseason.
Kenley Jansen coming in with 51 pitches (!!) was huge.
Kershaw coming in on relief after just 1 day of rest and after he threw 110 pitches or so on 3 days rest is just insane. And he saved it.
Joe Blanton is killing it. Every time he was brought in, it seemed that the opposing batters suddenly were facing an 0-2 count. When I was at Game 4, you could immediately see the notable difference between Blanton and the other middle relievers. He just had it. He was confident. He located pitches perfectly. Talk about a career turnaround, as he was out of baseball after a horrendous 2013 where he went like 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA.
Dodgers had a few slumping hitters in this series. Corey Seager started off well, but has been an automatic out for the past few games. AGon has been crappy, aside from that 2-run HR in Game 4. Grandal has been an automatic out. Utley has hit poorly, aside from that key single at the end of Game 4. Justin Turner can't carry the whole team. This might be a problem against the Cubs.
Middle relievers other than Blanton and Jansen have also struggled. I will forgive the 4 runs Jansen gave up in Game 3, as he shouldn't have been pitching in the first place.
Every Dodgers starter (including Kershaw) has struggled in each of the 5 games. Maybe tonight's game will be the emotional boost Kershaw needs to dominate again.
But if Hill and Maeda continue to struggle, I can't see the Dodgers beating the Cubs.
Urias looked fairly good tonight, though he was rescued by some good defense. Overall, he looked great for a 20-year-old under the heavy spotlight.
Dodgers have burnt out their most important pitching assets -- Kershaw and Jansen -- in order to get here. Game 1 is already on Saturday. Cubs will be fully rested.
But hey, it's playoff baseball, and anything can happen.
I know that MLB definitely hopes the Cubs win, given both their 2016 dominance and their 108-year drought, which makes the Dodgers' own 28-year drought look like yesterday.
Will be an interesting series.
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Originally Posted by Charham
