The Dodgers put the ball in ace Clayton Kershaw's hand Tuesday, hoping the left-hander could do his magic on three days' rest to force a Game 5 in their NLDS.
But in the end, another veteran proved the difference for the Dodgers.
Chase Utley's two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning drove in Andrew Toles for the eventual winning run in the Dodgers' 6-5 victory over the Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save. Joe Blanton got the win in relief.
Kershaw looked great through six innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. But the wheels fell off in the seventh inning. After Kershaw gave up a pair of hits and then walked Bryce Harper to load the bases, manager Dave Roberts went to his bullpen. All three runners ended up scoring, wiping out Kershaw's gutsy performance.
Utley's clutch single helped the Dodgers live another day.
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Three takeaways from the Dodgers' win:
1. The bullpen lets Clayton Kershaw down. It's too easy to second-guess Roberts for letting Kershaw go out for the seventh inning. Even for the best pitcher in baseball today, it was probably asking too much to send him back out after he had thrown 89 pitches on short rest.
2. We can't get enough of Kershaw vs. Harper. Does it get any more exciting than their matchup in the seventh inning? With two runners on and Harper sure to be Kershaw's last hitter, Kershaw had Harper 1-2 in the count before walking him.
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3. Daniel Murphy picks up where he left off. Murphy, the Mets' postseason hero last season, continued his phenomenal postseason play for the Nats, going 2 for 3 with four RBIs. He's now 6 for 13 with six RBIs in this series.
Highlight
After Kershaw gave up a run and threw 27 pitches in the first inning, Adrian Gonzalez helped him out in the bottom of the inning.
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What's next
Game 5: Dodgers at Nationals, 5 p.m. ET on Thursday (FS1) Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA in the regular season) gets the call for the Dodgers. He'll be working on three days' rest after giving up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings and picking up the loss in Game 2 Sunday. The Nationals will try to win the series with Max Scherzer (20-7, 2.96 ERA). He gave up four earned runs in six innings in losing the first game of the NLDS.