The postseason is all about bold moves and clutch performances. The Dodgers took bold to a whole new level in a Game 5 road win over the Nationals.
After seeing a three-run lead be cut to one run, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called upon closer Kenley Jansen in the seventh inning, then went against his word and used three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw to get the final two outs.
With the win, the Nationals will face the Cubs in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series beginning Saturday in Chicago.
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Three takeaways from Los Angeles' win:
1. Two pitches swung momentum to the Dodgers. One pitch before Nationals starter Max Scherzer served up a game-tying homer to Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson, Nationals third base coach Bob Henley and Jayson Werth made a bone-headed decision to try to score from first base on a double to left by Ryan Zimmerman with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and Washington leading 1-0.
Werth was turning for home as the throw from left fielder Andrew Toles was caught by cutoff man Corey Seager, who easily threw home to get Werth out by more than 10 feet. The play ended the inning, and the Dodgers used the momentum to score four runs in the top of the seventh as Carlos Ruiz and Justin Turner joined Pederson with RBI hits.
2. Wild moves paid off for the Dodgers. Even the unconventional Terry Francona hasn't used his closer as early as Roberts did to protect a one-run lead in the seventh. After southpaw Grant Dayton allowed a two-run homer to pinch hitter Chris Heisey, Roberts called on Jansen to attempt to finish the game.
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Jansen pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and worked around a leadoff walk in the eighth, but after walking Werth with his career-high 51st pitch in the ninth, he was pulled for Kershaw, who threw 110 pitches in his Game 4 start just two days prior. With runners on first and second, Kershaw got the red-hot Daniel Murphy to pop out to second base before striking out Wilmer Difo with his signature curveball. It was Kershaw's first postseason relief appearance since 2009.
The @Dodgers get the final out. Watch on #BallparkCam pic.twitter.com/EIx82NUsTM
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 14, 2016
3. Scherzer made one mistake. Looking to bounce back from a Game 1 loss, Scherzer carried a no-hitter into the fifth, where he escaped a bases-loaded jam after allowing three consecutive hits. Unfortunately for the Cy Young Award contender, his home run tendencies came back to bite him on the first pitch of the seventh.
Scherzer, who allowed the most home runs in the NL during the regular season, watched Pederson crush a 95 mph fastball on his 99th pitch of the game over the left-field wall to tie the game 1-1. Scherzer scattered five hits over six-plus innings with seven strikeouts.
Highlight
Justin Turner gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead in the seventh with a two-run triple over the head of Nationals center fielder Trea Turner.
What's next
NLCS Game 1: Dodgers at Cubs, 8 p.m. ET Saturday, Fox Sports 1: Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44 ERA) will toe the rubber for the second time this postseason. In Game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants, He threw eight shutout innings, lowering his career postseason ERA to 2.63 (17 games). The Cubs went 4-3 against the Dodgers during the regular season, outscoring LA 19-16.