Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals

Game 1: Clayton Kershaw vs. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals Park

EPIC DESMOND WALK-OFF BLAST STUNS JANSEN, DODGERS

Nats Steal NLCS Game 1

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (AP) – Ian Desmond’s one-out three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Kenley Jansen gave the Washington Nationals a stunning walk-off 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw had held the Nationals scoreless through 8-1/3 brilliant innings before running into trouble, setting off a chain of events that led to Desmond’s heroics.

Kershaw and Washington starter Stephen Strasburg matched scoreless frames through five innings. The Nationals failed to capitalize on a good scoring opportunity in the second. Adam LaRoche led off with a base hit through the box and Desmond followed with a double off the wall in right field, giving Washington runners on second and third with no outs. But Kershaw fanned Bryce Harper and then intentionally walked Wilson Ramos to load the bases with one out. Asdrubel Cabrera popped to shallow right for the second out and Kershaw struck out Strasburg to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, the Dodgers finally broke the scoreless deadlock. Dee Gordon grounded out to open the inning, but Yasiel Puig followed with a line drive to shallow center. Denard Span made an ill-advised diving attempt for the ball and came up empty, and by the time he was able to track the ball down, Puig was standing on third with what was scored a triple. Strasburg pitched carefully to Adrian Gonzalez and eventually walked him intentionally, then struck out Matt Kemp for out number two. But he fell behind Hanley Ramirez who laced a 3-1 pitch into the right field corner for a double, scoring Puig to give Loa Angeles a 1-0 lead and chasing Gonzalez to third. Nationals manager Matt Williams then replaced Strasburg with lefty Jerry Blevins to face Carl Crawford and it appeared to pay off when Crawford nubbed an 0-1 pitch back to the mound, but Blevins botched the squibber for an error, allowing Gonzalez to score the game’s second run. Tyler Clippard replaced Blevins and struck out Juan Uribe for the third out, but the Nationals now trailed 2-0.

Kershaw allowed a lead-off single to Span in the bottom of the sixth, but then retired the next ten batters he faced, into the bottom of the ninth. The Nationals bullpen held the Dodgers down through that point, and Kershaw entered the ninth nursing the 2-0 advantage. Anthony Rendon struck out to open the bottom of the ninth—Kershaw’s 11^th K of the game—but then Jayson Werth drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. LaRoche followed by lining the first pitch he saw into center field for just the fourth Washington safety of the game, putting runners on first and second. Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly, with the right-handed Desmond due up, wasted no time, calling on Jansen to enter the game. On a 2-2 count, Jansen fired a cut fastball and Desmond drilled it two or three rows into the left field stands for a game-winning home run, as Nationals Park erupted in bedlam.

The Dodgers will attempt to recover in Game 2 when they send Zack Greinke to the hill to oppose Tanner Roark.

10/11/2014, LAN14-Was14, Nationals Park

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Dodgers 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 8 0 7 0

2014 Nationals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 5 1 4 1

Dodgers AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG

Gordon,D 2b 4 0 1 0 .250 Span cf 4 0 1 0 .250

Puig cf 4 1 2 0 .500 Rendon 3b 4 0 0 0 .000

Gonzalez,Ad 1b 3 1 2 0 .667 Werth rf 3 1 0 0 .000

Kemp rf 4 0 0 0 .000 LaRoche 1b 4 1 2 0 .500

Van Slyke cf 0 0 0 0 .000 Desmond ss 4 1 2 3 .500

Ramirez,H ss 4 0 1 1 .250 Harper lf 3 0 0 0 .000

Rojas ss 0 0 0 0 .000 Ramos,W c 2 0 0 0 .000

Crawford,C lf 4 0 1 0 .250 Cabrera,A 2b 2 0 0 0 .000

Uribe 3b 4 0 1 0 .250 Zimmerman,R ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Ellis,A c 4 0 0 0 .000 Strasburg p 2 0 0 0 .000

Kershaw p 4 0 0 0 .000 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000

Jansen p 0 0 0 0 .000 Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000

35 2 8 1 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000

Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000

Frandsen ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000

30 3 5 3

Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Kershaw 8.1 4 2 2 2 11 110 75 2.16

Jansen BS 1, L 0-1 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 5 3 99.00

8.1 5 3 3 2 11 115 78

Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Strasburg 5.2 6 2 1 1 7 82 54 1.59

Blevins 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.00

Clippard 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 14 10 0.00

Thornton 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 0.00

Barrett 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 15 9 0.00

Soriano,R W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 10 8 0.00

9.0 8 2 1 1 11 126 85

LAN: Puig moved to rf in the 9th

Van Slyke inserted at cf in the 9th

Rojas inserted at ss in the 9th

Was: Zimmerman,R batted for Cabrera,A in the 8th

Frandsen batted for Barrett in the 8th

Rendon moved to 2b in the 9th

Zimmerman,R moved to 3b in the 9th

E-Blevins. 2B-Puig(1), Ramirez,H(1), Desmond(1). 3B-Puig(1). HR-Desmond(1).

RBI-Ramirez,H(1), Desmond 3(3). K-Gordon,D, Puig 2, Kemp 2, Ramirez,H 2,

Uribe 3, Kershaw, Span, Rendon, Werth 2, Desmond, Harper 3, Strasburg 2,

Frandsen. BB-Gonzalez,Ad, Werth, Ramos,W.

GWRBI: Desmond

Temperature: 61, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 5 MPH.

Attendance: 41,272

Game Time: 2:36

Game 2: Zack Greinke vs. Tanner Roark, Nationals Park

DODGERS RIDE 5-RUN 3^RD INNING TO SERIES EVENING WIN

L.A. Shrugs Off Game 1 Stunner

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers scored five times in the top of the third inning and went on to defeat the Washington Nationals 7-2 at Nationals Park in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. It was an impressive bounce back effort from the Dodgers after the stunning Game 1 loss on Ian Desmond’s walk-off three-run homer. Zack Greinke bent—allowing two runs on nine hits—but didn’t break, and pitched into the sixth inning. Three Dodgers relievers combined to toss 3-1/3 shutout innings.

Washington jumped out in front in the bottom of the first inning. Anthony Rendon drew a one-out walk from Greinke and then, after Jayson Werth fanned, took second on a wild pitch. Adam LaRoche followed with a single to center and Rendon just barely beat Yasiel Puig’s throw to the plate to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Tanner Roark held Los Angeles scoreless through two, but it all came apart for him in the top of the third. Juan Uribe doubled past Rendon at third to open the inning and, after A.J. Ellis flied to shallow right, Greinke dropped a single into left, putting runners on the corners. Dee Gordon then lined a base hit to center, scoring Uribe to tie the game and advancing Greinke to third. Puig laced a double down the left field line, plating Greinke and leaving runners on second and third. The damage appeared to be limited to two runs when Roark induced Adrian Gonzalez to pop to second, but it was the Dodgers’ turn to hit a stunning long ball. Matt Kemp crushed the first pitch he saw from Roark into the left field stands for a three-run homer, putting the Dodgers on top 5-1.

Los Angeles added to the lead in the fourth. Uribe singled with one out, which ended Roark’s day. He was replaced by Doug Pfister, who retired Ellis on a liner to center. But Greinke came through with his second hit of the game, a double down the first base line, which advanced Uribe to third and Gordon followed with a base hit to left-center, scoring both runners. Puig came through with another single, leaving men on first and second, before Gonzalez flied to right to end the inning with the Dodgers in possession of a commanding 7-1 lead.

Three consecutive hits for the Nationals with two outs in the bottom of the fourth got them their second run of the game and it could have been more. With runners on first and second, pinch hitter Nate Schierholtz grounded a single to right but Kemp came throwing and gunned down Wilson Ramos at the plate to extinguish the threat.

The Nationals put runners on base off and on throughout the remainder of the game, but weren’t able to dent home plate again. Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell and Jamey Wright ultimately held Washington scoreless after Baez replaced Greinke two outs into the sixth inning.

Gordon and Puig, the top two hitters in the Los Angeles lineup, set the table, going a combined 7-for-10 with four runs batted in and a pair of runs scored. Wilson Ramos was 4-for-4 for the Nationals.

The two teams will have a travel day and then resume the series at Dodger Stadium for games three, four and five.

10/12/2014, LAN14-Was14, Nationals Park

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Dodgers 0 0 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 12 0 4 1

2014 Nationals 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 11 0 8 1

Dodgers AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG

Gordon,D 2b 5 1 3 3 .444 Span cf 5 0 0 0 .111

Puig cf 5 1 4 1 .667 Rendon 3b 3 1 1 0 .143

Gonzalez,Ad 1b 4 0 0 0 .286 Werth rf 4 0 1 0 .143

Kemp rf 4 1 1 3 .125 LaRoche 1b 4 0 1 1 .375

Ramirez,H ss 4 0 0 0 .125 Desmond ss 4 0 0 0 .250

Rojas ss 0 0 0 0 .000 Harper lf 4 1 1 0 .143

Crawford,C lf 4 0 0 0 .125 Ramos,W c 4 0 4 0 .667

Uribe 3b 4 2 2 0 .375 Cabrera,A 2b 4 0 2 1 .333

Ellis,A c 4 0 0 0 .000 Roark p 1 0 0 0 .000

Greinke p 3 2 2 0 .667 Fister p 0 0 0 0 .000

Baez,P p 0 0 0 0 .000 Schierholtz ph 1 0 1 0 1.000

Howell p 0 0 0 0 .000 Stammen p 0 0 0 0 .000

Ethier ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Espinosa ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Wright,J p 0 0 0 0 .000 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000

38 7 12 7 Storen p 0 0 0 0 .000

Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000

Lobaton ph 1 0 0 0 .000

36 2 11 2

Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Greinke W 1-0 5.2 9 2 2 1 5 82 55 3.18

Baez,P H 1 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 13 9 0.00

Howell 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 12 8 0.00

Wright,J 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 12 7 0.00

9.0 11 2 2 1 6 119 79

Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Roark L 0-1 3.1 7 6 6 0 0 38 29 16.20

Fister 0.2 3 1 1 0 0 9 8 13.50

Stammen 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 18 12 0.00

Blevins 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 8 6 0.00

Storen 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 18 10 0.00

Clippard 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 13 10 0.00

9.0 12 7 7 0 2 104 75

LAN: Rojas inserted at ss in the 8th

Ethier batted for Howell in the 9th

Was: Schierholtz batted for Fister in the 4th

Espinosa batted for Stammen in the 6th

Lobaton batted for Clippard in the 9th

2B-Puig(2), Uribe(1), Greinke(1). HR-Kemp(1). RBI-Gordon,D 3(3), Puig(1),

Kemp 3(3), LaRoche(1), Cabrera,A(1). K-Puig, Uribe, Span, Werth, Desmond 2,

Harper, Cabrera,A. BB-Rendon. WP-Greinke, Storen.

GWRBI: Puig

Temperature: 71, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 9 MPH.

Attendance: 41,229

Game Time: 2:43

Game 3: Jordan Zimmerman vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodger Stadium

NATS OUTLAST DODGERS FOR WILD GAME 3 ‘W’

Ramos Homers Twice, Desmond Drives in 5

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14 (AP) – The Washington Nationals raced out to a big early lead and then hung on for dear life, ultimately defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. Washington led 10-3 in the sixth inning and survived a furious Dodgers rally. The two teams combined to use 15 pitchers in the contest. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos went 3-for-4—he’s now hitting .700 for the NLCS—including a pair of solo home runs. Washington shortstop Ian Desmond drove in a total of five runs—he now has eight RBIs in the series—including his second three-run homer of the NLCS. Juan Uribe (four hits) and Carl Crawford (three hits) were a combined 7-for-9 with four runs scored for the Dodgers.

The Nationals got off to a fast start against Los Angeles starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. After Denard Span grounded out to open the game, Anthony Rendon doubled into the left field corner and Jayson Werth worked a walk. Adam LaRoche grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing Werth at second, but Desmond deposited the first pitch he saw from Ryu into the left field pavilion for a 3-0 Washington lead.

The Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the inning against Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman. Dee Gordon reached on an infield single and Yasiel Puig singled to center. Adrian Gonzalez then lost a first-pitch fastball from Zimmerman to tie the game.

Undaunted, the Nationals regained the lead in the second. Ramos led off with a single to center and Asdrubel Cabrera forced him at second for the first out. Zimmerman sacrificed Cabrera to second and Span singled to right, scoring Cabrera to make it 4-3. Rendon’s base hit put runners on first and second and Werth made it 5-3 with a single to right-center before LaRoche finally ended the inning by grounding to third.

When Ramos made it 6-3 with a two-out homer in the top of the third, Ryu’s day was over. He was replaced by Dan Haren who retired Cabrera on a fly ball to end the inning.

But Washington broke the game wide open with four more runs in the fourth. Zimmerman’s lead-off single got the inning started, but was forced at second by Span’s fielder’s choice grounder. Rendon bounced to third for the second out, with Span taking second. Haren never could get the third out of the inning. Werth’s infield single left runners on first and third and LaRoche walked, filling the bases. Desmond then doubled off the right field wall, scoring Span and Werth to make it 8-3, and advancing LaRoche to third. Bryce Harper then lined a base hit to right-center, scoring two more runs. Chris Perez replaced Haren and finally got the third out when he induced Ramos to ground to short, but the Nationals now held a seemingly insurmountable 10-3 lead.

Zimmerman recovered after the rocky first inning and shut the Dodgers down over the next four innings, but in the bottom of the sixth, he hit a snag. Hanley Ramirez doubled to right-center with one out and scored on Crawford’s base hit. Uribe’s single to left put runners on first and second. Craig Stammen took over on the mound for Zimmerman, but walked pinch hitter Justin Turner, loading the bases. Scott Van Slyke came on to pinch hit for the pitcher and ripped a double off the base of the left field wall, scoring two more runs. Matt Thornton became the third Nationals pitcher of the inning, but yielded an infield single to Gordon, which scored Turner and advanced Van Slyke to third. But Thornton retired Puig and Gonzalez without further damage. Still, Los Angeles had cut a seven-run deficit to three.

Ramos’ second solo home run of the game, with one out in the top of the seventh off Scott Elbert, made the score 11-7 but the Dodgers countered with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Drew Storen retired the first two batters he faced, but Crawford singled to left and Uribe doubled him to third. Drew Butera, who came on to catch after A.J. Ellis was lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth, came through with a two-run single to right, cutting the lead to 11-9. The tying run was now at the plate, but Aaron Barrett was brought on to pitch for the Nationals and fanned pinch hitter Miguel Ramos to end the inning.

Remarkably, in a game where baserunners had been plentiful, no one reached base for either team in the final two innings. Jerry Blevins retired the Dodgers in order in the eighth and Rafael Soriano nailed down the save with a perfect bottom of the ninth.

10/14/2014, Was14-LAN14, Dodger Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Nationals 3 2 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 11 12 0 4 0

2014 Dodgers 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 9 14 0 6 0

Nationals AB R H BI AVG Dodgers AB R H BI AVG

Span cf 5 2 1 1 .143 Gordon,D 2b 5 1 2 1 .429

Rendon 3b 5 1 2 0 .250 Puig cf 5 1 1 0 .500

Werth rf 4 1 2 1 .273 Gonzalez,Ad 1b 5 1 1 3 .250

LaRoche 1b 4 2 0 0 .250 Kemp rf 5 0 0 0 .077

Desmond ss 5 2 2 5 .308 Ramirez,H ss 5 1 1 0 .154

Harper lf 5 0 1 2 .167 Crawford,C lf 5 2 3 1 .308

Ramos,W c 4 2 3 2 .700 Uribe 3b 4 2 4 0 .583

Cabrera,A 2b 4 1 0 0 .200 Ellis,A c 2 0 0 0 .000

Zimmermann,J p 1 0 1 0 1.000 Turner,Ju ph 0 1 0 0 .000

Stammen p 0 0 0 0 .000 Butera c 1 0 1 2 1.000

Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000 Ryu p 1 0 0 0 .000

Schierholtz ph 1 0 0 0 .500 Haren p 0 0 0 0 .000

Storen p 0 0 0 0 .000 Perez,C p 0 0 0 0 .000

Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000 Ethier ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000 Baez,P p 0 0 0 0 .000

Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000 Van Slyke ph 1 0 1 2 1.000

38 11 12 11 Elbert p 0 0 0 0 .000

Wilson,Br p 0 0 0 0 .000

Rojas ph 1 0 0 0 .000

League p 0 0 0 0 .000

Howell p 0 0 0 0 .000

41 9 14 9

Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Zimmermann,J W 1-0 5.1 9 6 6 0 6 68 52 10.13

Stammen 0.0 1 1 1 1 0 6 2 4.50

Thornton H 1 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 11 8 0.00

Storen H 1 0.2 3 2 2 0 1 19 14 9.00

Barrett H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 6 4 0.00

Blevins H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 10 7 0.00

Soriano,R S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 6 0.00

9.0 14 9 9 1 10 129 93

Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Ryu L 0-1 2.2 7 6 6 1 1 50 34 20.25

Haren 1.0 4 4 4 1 0 23 11 36.00

Perez,C 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00

Baez,P 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 26 18 0.00

Elbert 0.2 1 1 1 0 1 11 9 13.50

Wilson,Br 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 0.00

League 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 10 5 0.00

Howell 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 14 9 0.00

9.0 12 11 11 3 6 140 90

Was: Schierholtz batted for Thornton in the 7th

LAN: Ethier batted for Perez,C in the 4th

Turner,Ju batted for Ellis,A in the 6th

Van Slyke batted for Baez,P in the 6th

Butera inserted at c in the 7th

Rojas batted for Wilson,Br in the 7th

2B-Rendon(1), Desmond(2), Ramirez,H(2), Uribe(2), Van Slyke(1).

HR-Desmond(2), Ramos,W 2(2), Gonzalez,Ad(1). RBI-Span(1), Werth(1),

Desmond 5(8), Harper 2(2), Ramos,W 2(2), Gordon,D(4), Gonzalez,Ad 3(3),

Crawford,C(1), Van Slyke 2(2), Butera 2(2). K-Rendon, Werth, LaRoche,

Desmond, Harper, Cabrera,A, Puig, Gonzalez,Ad 2, Kemp 2, Ramirez,H 2,

Crawford,C, Ethier, Rojas. BB-Werth, LaRoche, Zimmermann,J, Turner,Ju.

SH-Zimmermann,J.

GWRBI: Span

Temperature: 63, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 18 MPH.

Attendance: 56,303

Game Time: 3:18

Game 4: Gio Gonzalez vs. Dan Haren, Dodger Stadium

YEOMAN’S WORK BY NATS PEN SECURES 3-1 SERIES LEAD

Werth, Cabrera HRs Pace Washington Attack

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 (AP) – On the strength of 5-1/3 scoreless innings from their relief corps, the Washington Nationals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 at Dodger Stadium to take a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series. Six Nationals relievers held the Dodgers to just three hits, walking none and striking out six. Doug Fister, the odd-man out of the Washington rotation for this postseason was awarded the victory on the basis of 2 1/3 shutout frames, pitching his club through the sixth inning. Jayson Werth and Asdrubel Cabrera both hit their first home runs of the NLCS and combined to drive in five runs.

For the second straight game, there was plenty of first inning action. Denard Span led off the game with a base hit and advanced to second on a passed ball. After Anthony Rendon grounded to third, Werth deposited a Dan Haren offering into the seats down the left field line to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers came right back in the bottom of the opening inning against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. Dee Gordon drew a lead-off walk and stole second. Wilson Ramos’ throw went into center field for an error and Gordon trotted to third. Yasiel Puig struck out but Adrian Gonzalez drilled a base hit to center, scoring Gordon. Matt Kemp followed with a home run over the left field wall, his second long ball of the series, to put the Dodgers on top.

It was still 3-2 at the start of the fourth inning when Washington took the lead for good. Ian Desmond reached on a one-out infield single and stole second base. Bryce Harper followed with a base hit to right, scoring Desmond, with Harper advancing to second on the throw to the plate. Ramos followed with a base hit through the middle, with Harper advancing to third. Cabrera then cleared the right-center field wall with his first home run of the series and the Nationals led 6-3.

The Dodgers cut that lead to one in the bottom of the frame. A.J. Ellis drew a lead-off walk and, one out later, Gordon’s double to right advanced Ellis to third. Puig followed with a two-run single to center, making it 6-5. Adrian Gonzalez lined to right for the second out and Nationals manager Matt Williams replaced Gio Gonzalez with Fister, who fanned Kemp for the third out.

There was no more scoring until the eighth. The Dodgers had a chance to at least tie the game in the sixth when pinch hitter Andre Ethier singled with one out and advanced to third on Gordon’s base hit. But Fister struck out Puig on a 3-2 pitch and Ramos gunned down Gordon to complete the strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play.

The Nationals added an insurance run in the eighth when Adam LaRoche and Desmond drew consecutive free passes from Chris Perez to open the inning. J.P. Howell came on and retired Harper on a long fly to center, with LaRoche advancing to third. Brian Wilson replaced Howell, but Ramos singled, scoring LaRoche to make it 7-5.

Washington added an unearned run for good measure off Kenley Jansen in the ninth. Werth walked with one out and advanced to third when third baseman Juan Uribe threw a potential double play ball relay into right field for an error, leaving runners on first and third. A wild pitch then brought Werth home with the eighth run of the game for the Nationals.

Matt Thornton, Tyler Clippard, Jerry Blevins, Aaron Barrett and Rafael Soriano combined to retire the last nine Los Angeles batters in order, with Soriano setting down the side in order in the ninth to earn his second save in as many days.

Game 5, to be played tomorrow, will be an elimination game for the Dodgers who will send their ace, Clayton Kershaw, to the mound to take on Stephen Strasburg in a rematch of Game 1.

10/15/2014, Was14-LAN14, Dodger Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Nationals 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1 8 10 1 7 2

2014 Dodgers 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 1 6 0

Nationals AB R H BI AVG Dodgers AB R H BI AVG

Span cf 5 1 1 0 .158 Gordon,D 2b 4 2 2 0 .444

Rendon 3b 5 0 2 0 .294 Puig cf 5 0 2 2 .474

Werth rf 4 2 1 2 .267 Gonzalez,Ad 1b 4 1 1 1 .250

LaRoche 1b 4 1 0 0 .188 Kemp rf 4 1 1 2 .118

Desmond ss 4 1 1 0 .294 Ramirez,H ss 3 0 1 0 .188

Harper lf 5 1 1 1 .176 Crawford,C lf 4 0 1 0 .294

Ramos,W c 4 1 2 1 .643 Uribe 3b 4 0 0 0 .438

Cabrera,A 2b 3 1 2 3 .308 Ellis,A c 3 1 0 0 .000

Gonzalez,G p 2 0 0 0 .000 Haren p 1 0 1 0 1.000

Fister p 0 0 0 0 .000 Turner,Ju ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Schierholtz ph 1 0 0 0 .333 Wright,J p 0 0 0 0 .000

Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000 Ethier ph 1 0 1 0 .333

Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000 Perez,C p 0 0 0 0 .000

Espinosa ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 .000

Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000 Wilson,Br p 0 0 0 0 .000

Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000 Elbert p 0 0 0 0 .000

Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000 Jansen p 0 0 0 0 .000

38 8 10 7 Van Slyke ph 1 0 0 0 .500

35 5 10 5

Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Gonzalez,G 3.2 7 5 5 3 6 84 55 12.27

Fister W 1-0 2.1 3 0 0 0 3 34 23 3.00

Thornton H 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00

Clippard H 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 9 6 0.00

Blevins H 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.00

Barrett H 2 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 11 6 0.00

Soriano,R S 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 0.00

9.0 10 5 5 3 12 150 98

Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Haren L 0-1 4.0 7 6 6 0 4 75 45 18.00

Wright,J 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 30 21 0.00

Perez,C 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 24 12 6.75

Howell 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.00

Wilson,Br 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 17 11 0.00

Elbert 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 9.00

Jansen 1.0 0 1 0 1 2 22 13 9.00

9.0 10 8 7 4 11 173 104

Was: Schierholtz batted for Fister in the 7th

Espinosa batted for Clippard in the 8th

LAN: Turner,Ju batted for Haren in the 4th

Ethier batted for Wright,J in the 6th

Van Slyke batted for Jansen in the 9th

E-Ramos,W, Uribe. 2B-Gordon,D(1), Puig(3). 3B-Rendon(1). HR-Werth(1),

Cabrera,A(1), Kemp(2). RBI-Werth 2(3), Harper(3), Ramos,W(3), Cabrera,A 3(4),

Puig 2(3), Gonzalez,Ad(4), Kemp 2(5). SB-Desmond(1), Gordon,D(1).

CS-Gordon,D. K-Werth 3, LaRoche, Desmond 3, Harper 2, Gonzalez,G, Espinosa,

Puig 2, Gonzalez,Ad, Kemp 3, Ramirez,H, Crawford,C 2, Uribe, Ellis,A,

Turner,Ju. BB-Werth, LaRoche, Desmond, Cabrera,A, Gordon,D, Ramirez,H,

Ellis,A. PB-Ramos,W, Ellis,A. WP-Jansen.

GWRBI: Cabrera,A

Temperature: 56, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to center at 9 MPH.

Attendance: 56,109

Game Time: 3:41

Game 5: Stephen Strasburg vs. Clayton Kershaw, Dodger Stadium

HOMERS, WALKS KEY NATS NLCS-CLINCHING ‘W’

Late Rally Seals Comeback

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 (AP) – Anthony Rendon’s three-run homer in the top of the seventh erased a 3-1 deficit and the Washington Nationals went on to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 at Dodger Stadium, clinching the National League Championship Series in the process. The Nationals will host the winner of the still-to-be-decided American League Championship Series in Game 1 of the World Series on October 21.

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw struggled with his command early, but regained his footing as the contest wore on and held the Nationals to a lone run on just three hits through six innings before departing for a pinch hitter. But the Los Angeles bullpen wilted and coughed up the lead, allowing five runs on four hits—three of them home runs—and five walks over the final three frames.

Yasiel Puig’s solo home run, his first long ball of the NLCS, in the bottom of the first against Washington starter Stephen Strasburg gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. But the Nationals evened the score in the top of the second. Bryce Harper drew a lead-off walk, then advanced to second on Wilson Ramos’ single—his 10^th hit of the series. Asdrubel Cabrera’s fielder’s choice left runners on the corners with one out and Strasburg managed to roll into another fielder’s choice. Cabrera was forced out at second, but Harper scored the tying run on the play.

Carl Crawford’s one-out solo home run in the second restored Los Angeles’ one-run lead and the Dodgers pushed across their third tally in the fifth when A.J. Ellis singled with one out, advanced to second on Kershaw’s sacrifice bunt, and scored when Dee Gordon doubled just inside the left field line.

Kershaw walked three batters in the first two innings and faced numerous deep counts, but after Ramos singled in the second, the Dodgers ace found his rhythm and retired 12 consecutive Washington batters before yielding Anthony Rendon’s lead-off single in the sixth. After fanning Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond poked a single to center, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but Kershaw, on his 100^th pitch of the game, struck out Harper to end the threat.

Kershaw gave way to a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth and Brandon League entered the game for the Dodgers in the top of the seventh. After retiring Ramos and Cabrera on routine ground balls, League walked pinch hitter Nate Schierholtz on four pitches. With lefty swinging Denard Span due up, Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly called on J.P. Howell to relieve League. It was Howell’s third appearance in as many days and it showed. He walked Span, putting runners on first and second. Mattingly then summoned Brian Wilson from the bullpen to face Rendon and it blew up in his face. On the very first pitch from Wilson, Rendon ripped a fastball into the seats down the left field line for a stunning three-run homer and a 4-3 Washington lead. It nearly got worse. Wilson walked Werth on four pitches, surrendered a base hit to LaRoche, then walked Desmond on five pitches to load the bases. Scott Elbert came on and kept the deficit at one run by inducing Harper to ground out to end the inning.

Aaron Barrett pitched around a two-out walk to pinch hitter Justin Turner to retain the 4-3 lead and then the Nationals added some insurance against Pedro Baez in the top of the eighth. Solo home runs by Cabrera and Span upped the lead to 6-3 and Jerry Blevins easily retired the Dodgers in order in the bottom of the frame to keep it that way.

After Kenley Jansen held the Nationals scoreless in the top of the ninth, Rafael Soriano came on and set the Dodgers down 1-2-3 to earn his third save in as many days. The Nationals celebrated their NL pennant as the Dodgers and their fans watched.

Wilson Ramos (.556, two home runs) was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player.

10/16/2014, Was14-LAN14, Dodger Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

2014 Nationals 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 6 7 1 9 1

2014 Dodgers 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 6 0 4 0

Nationals AB R H BI AVG Dodgers AB R H BI AVG

Span cf 4 2 1 1 .174 Gordon,D 2b 4 0 1 1 .409

Rendon 3b 5 1 2 3 .318 Puig cf 4 1 1 1 .435

Werth rf 2 0 0 0 .235 Gonzalez,Ad 1b 4 0 1 0 .250

LaRoche 1b 4 0 1 0 .200 Kemp rf 4 0 0 0 .095

Desmond ss 4 0 1 0 .286 Ramirez,H ss 4 0 0 0 .150

Harper lf 4 1 0 0 .143 Crawford,C lf 4 1 2 1 .333

Ramos,W c 4 0 1 0 .556 Uribe 3b 4 0 0 0 .350

Cabrera,A 2b 4 1 1 1 .294 Ellis,A c 1 1 1 0 .071

Espinosa 2b 0 0 0 0 .000 Ethier ph 0 0 0 0 .333

Strasburg p 2 0 0 1 .000 Butera c 0 0 0 0 1.000

Schierholtz ph 0 1 0 0 .333 Kershaw p 1 0 0 0 .000

Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000 League p 0 0 0 0 .000

Zimmerman,R ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 .000

Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000 Wilson,Br p 0 0 0 0 .000

Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000 Elbert p 0 0 0 0 .000

34 6 7 6 Turner,Ju ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Baez,P p 0 0 0 0 .000

Jansen p 0 0 0 0 .000

31 3 6 3

Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Strasburg W 1-0 6.0 6 3 3 1 7 90 66 3.09

Barrett H 3 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 14 6 0.00

Blevins H 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 11 7 0.00

Soriano,R S 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 23 15 0.00

9.0 6 3 3 2 11 138 94

Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Kershaw 6.0 3 1 1 3 6 100 62 1.88

League H 1 0.2 0 1 1 1 0 12 7 5.40

Howell 0.0 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 3.86

Wilson,Br BS 1, L 0-1 0.0 2 1 1 2 0 11 3 13.50

Elbert 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6.75

Baez,P 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 12 8 4.15

Jansen 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 22 12 4.50

9.0 7 6 6 8 9 162 93

Was: Schierholtz batted for Strasburg in the 7th

Zimmerman,R batted for Barrett in the 8th

Espinosa inserted at 2b in the 9th

LAN: Ethier batted for Ellis,A in the 7th

Turner,Ju batted for Elbert in the 7th

Butera inserted at c in the 8th

E-Desmond. 2B-Gordon,D(2). HR-Span(1), Rendon(1), Cabrera,A(2), Puig(1),

Crawford,C(1). RBI-Span(2), Rendon 3(3), Cabrera,A(5), Strasburg(1),

Gordon,D(5), Puig(4), Crawford,C(2). CS-Crawford,C. K-Span, Rendon, Werth,

LaRoche, Desmond 2, Harper 2, Zimmerman,R, Puig, Gonzalez,Ad 2, Kemp 4,

Uribe 3, Kershaw. BB-Span, Werth 3, LaRoche, Desmond, Harper, Schierholtz,

Ellis,A, Ethier. SH-Kershaw.

GWRBI: Rendon

Temperature: 63, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 2 MPH.

Attendance: 55,656

Game Time: 3:03