LOS ANGELES — Aces galore on the mound. Power hitters in the lineups. Shutdown relievers out of the bullpen.
The National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers is a perfect fit for Hollywood. There are stars all over the field.
Having won a franchise-record 106 games in the regular season, the Dodgers are aiming for a third consecutive World Series appearance after losing to Houston and Boston the last two years.
“Our only goal is to win a championship,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “We are equipped to accomplish that goal.”
The Nationals have a streak of their own they want to end: losing four times in the Division Series since 2012.
The Dodgers haven’t played a meaningful game in a couple months. They cruised to their seventh straight NL West title by 21 games over Arizona.
The Nationals eked their way into this round with a dramatic wild-card victory over Milwaukee, helped by a Brewers error in the eighth inning.
For the second straight year, Clayton Kershaw won’t be opening the postseason as the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter. A year ago, they went with Hyun-Jin Ryu against the Atlanta Braves, ending Kershaw’s streak of six consecutive playoff appearances starting Game 1.
This year, right-hander Walker Buehler gets the nod.
Buehler worked on his mechanics in his final tuneup last Friday at San Francisco, where he gave up two runs and walked four in five innings.
“Around here, I don’t know if one, two or three really matters,” Buehler said of getting the nod from Roberts. “It’s more about pitching for this team in the playoffs. And I think the order’s a little bit less significant than people want to make it out to be, and I’m just excited to get to pitch.”
Kershaw is arguably the best pitcher of his generation. Ryu is an NL Cy Young candidate.
But Roberts felt that starting Buehler will give his club its best chance to win this series. He admitted that Buehler pitching at home – in Game 1 and possibly Game 5 – was part of the equation. Buehler had mixed results in last year’s postseason, including seven scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. He has a 3.38 ERA in two career starts against the Nationals.
Roberts did not reveal his starter for any other game, though he said the decision has already been made and won’t be affected by the outcome of Game 1. There is a certain level of gamesmanship between teams this time of year, and there’s no competitive advantage to giving the opponent extra time to prepare. That’s what led Roberts to crack a joke and smile when addressing reporters Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t think the Nationals have announced Game 2 or 3, have they yet?” Roberts said. “There’s no point.”
In Game 1, the Nationals are going with Patrick Corbin, their so-called third ace among a trio that includes Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.
“If you look at Corbin, Strasburg, we haven’t had a whole lot of success against those two guys,” Roberts said. “The success or limited success we have had against Scherzer, it’s very limited still.”
Corbin has a 3.36 ERA in 21 career games against the Dodgers, having faced them regularly when he was in the NL West.
This matchup is a clash of the NL’s best rotations. The Nationals, after Corbin, have Aníbal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to use in some order. Sanchez is the most rested after both Scherzer and Strasburg pitched in the wild-card game Tuesday. But Strasburg could be ready for Game 2 after throwing just 34 pitches against the Brewers.
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