The set-up: The LA Dodgers have won four straight NL West titles but have not advanced to the World Series in that stretch. In fact, the last time LA made it all the way to the Fall Classic was back in 1988, when the Dodgers shocked the A's four games-to-one! The Nats, who relocated from Montreal in 2005, haven't reached the World Series in franchise history. Recently, the Nats are in the postseason for the THIRD time in five years but have been eliminated in the NLDS in both previous trips to the playoffs. The Washington earned homefield advantage in this series by winning 95 games to LA's so this deciding Game 5 will be played at Nationals Park.

The pitching matchup: Rich Hill for LA and Max Scherzer for Washington. Hill began the season with the A's but was acquired by the Dodgers in late July, despite the fact that he was on the DL at the time of the trade. His first start for LA came on August 24th and he was famously pulled by manager Dave Roberts while he was tossing a no-hitter after six innings. He made 20 starts in 2016 (Oak & LA), finishing 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA, including six starts for LA, going 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA (LA was 3-3). Hill had put up impressive numbers when healthy in 2016 but note that he came into his Game 2 start with LA having lost his last three starts of the regular season. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings while losing Game 2, giving up four runs on six hits, although he did strike out seven. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts asserted that 20-year-old rookie Julio Urias is also part of LA's Game 5 pitching plan. Scherzer got the Game 1 start in this series and entered that contest having not lost since August 9, entering 8-0 over his final 10 regular season stats (Nats were 10-0!). However, he allowed a solo HR in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third. He took a 4-3 loss (6 IP / 4 ERs), falling to 2-5 (3.72 ERA) in 11 career games vs. the Dodgers (nine starts / teams are 2-7). Scherzer is 4-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 postseason games, including 11 starts but he does have 85 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings over his playoff career.

The pick: The Dodgers have spent a lot of money in recent years with little to show for it and the Nats enter this winner-take-all game with a sorry history. Washington lost Game 5 at home to the St. Louis Cardinals of the NLDS in 2012 and fell in four games to the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS two years later. As for manager Dusty Baker, he has lost a major-league record eight consecutive postseason games when a victory would have advanced the team he was guiding (hard to explain that away as bad luck). However, Scherzer was the NL's lone 20-game winner in 2016 and is well aware the Nationals have never won a playoff series since relocating from Montreal. "This will probably be the biggest start of my career," Scherzer told reporters. "I've said that a few times in my life, but I think this will be it." Is Rich Hill really up to the challenge? Off his Game 2 performance, the answer is N-O! The last time a baseball team in Washington won a postseason series was when the Senators beat the New York Giants in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series in the nation's capital. Expect these Nats to "party like it's 1924" on Thursday! Washington is an 8* play.