District On Deck
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Washington Nationals-Dodgers Game 1 NLDS Preview

By Ricky Keeler

Sep 27, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Jun 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) delivers during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Clayton Kershaw (12-4, 1.69 ERA In 21 regular season starts)

If Kershaw hadn’t missed most of the season because of a back injury, he would have a great chance to win another Cy Young Award. The 28-year-old left-hander ended up being out from June 26-September 9. Since coming back into the rotation, he has looked like the ace of old.

In five starts, Kershaw went 1-2 with a 1.29 ERA, had 27 strikeouts to only two walks and held opponents to a .182 batting average. He has given up only one home run in his last four starts, but that home run came on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.

Of course, when you talk Kershaw, you have to bring up his postseason numbers. He is 2-6 with a 4.59 ERA. With that being said, he does have 66 strikeouts over his last eight October starts. Both of his postseason wins have come in the NLDS (2013 against the Braves and 2015 against the Mets).

One thing that Kershaw has done over the course of his career is that he has dominated the Washington Nationals offense. He is 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) and has not lost a game against the Nats in his last eight starts.

If you look at the last two seasons in particular, Kershaw is 3-0 in three starts against the Nats. In those games, he has given up one run in 23 innings, and has 30 strikeouts without a single batter. He has always shown pinpoint control as evident by his 17 walks the entire season. Now, let’s take a closer look inside the numbers

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