WASHINGTON — Clayton Kershaw was not in the form that made him a three-time Cy Young Award winner. The Dodgers ace made pitches when he had to, darted in and out of trouble in just his sixth game since returning from the disabled list with a herniated disk in his back. But this was a five-inning, 101-pitch grind.
Still, Kershaw left the NLDS game against the Nationals with the lead, thanks largely to home runs by former Met Justin Turner and odds-on Rookie of the Year favorite Corey Seager. Then the bullpen took over. That is the Dodgers’ way.
“What we’ve done all year long is put ourselves in a position to win and then turn it over to the bullpen,” Turner said. “Clayton went out and emptied the tank for five innings and we turned it over to our guys who have been locking down games all season.”
So, with the team-wide effort of Kershaw, homers and four innings of one-hit relief by four relievers, including a five-out save from Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers survived, 4-3, in Game 1 at Nationals Park on Friday.
The Dodgers, who got a two-run homer from Turner and a solo shot from Seager, will seek a commanding 2-0 lead Saturday when they send lefty Rich Hill against Tanner Roark before the series moves to Los Angeles.
Game 1 featured the star power of Kershaw against Nationals 20-game winner — and eventual loser — Max Scherzer. But the starters’ efforts lacked the crisp precision of, say, Wednesday’s two-sided pitching masterpiece between the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner and the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard.
“I actually felt like I had decent stuff,” Kershaw said. “It was a grind. A lot of guys on base all night. It was as close as you can bend without breaking.
“At this time of year throw the stats out the window and just win the game. I didn’t pitch great but we won and that’s awesome.”
Seager, the 22-year-old stud shortstop, gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. He became the youngest Dodger ever to homer in a playoff game when he drove a first-pitch Scherzer fastball to straightaway center.
“Fastball over the plate. Put a good swing on it got good results,” Seager said. “We were looking for any runs we could get off him. That’s an elite pitcher.”
Turner, the next batter, got hit on the hand.
“[It] doesn’t feel good,” said Turner, who insisted there was no way he was coming out.
Turner exacted revenge in the third when he drilled a first-pitch curve for a homer to left, two batters after a Chase Utley RBI single. It was the first postseason homer for Turner, who is a .500 hitter (12-of-24) in the playoffs.
The Nationals cut the deficit to 4-2 on a two-run single by Anthony Rendon in the third that was greatly aided by a double-steal worked by Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth. A double by catcher Pedro Severino, who subbed for the injured Wilson Ramos (torn ACL), a groundout by Scherzer and Trea Turner’s sac fly made it 4-3 in the fourth.
After Kershaw exited, Washington managed only two runners, a one-out walk by Daniel Murphy in the seventh and a pinch-hit two-out double in the eighth by pinch hitter Clint Robinson. Murphy was thrown out stealing on what he admitted was a “bad play.”
“It was a straight steal,” said Murphy, in his first start after straining his glute. “There were two choices, either be safe or don’t run. It was a bad play.”
Washington manager Dusty Baker said he was “surprised” Murphy, who hit a historic seven postseason homers last year with the Mets, chose to run, but stressed his players have a “green light.” He also noted the reliever at the time, Pedro Baez, is slow to the plate and Murphy was being aggressive.
Murphy pointed to Washington leaving nine on base as a bigger culprit.
“A lot of traffic,” Murphy said. “We lacked that one big kill shot.”