On Sunday, the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals will shift to the nation’s capital. The top-seeded Dodgers won the series opener, but managed just five hits during a 4-2 home loss in Game Two. Los Angeles OF Cody Bellinger went hitless in four at-bats and struck out three times in a losing effort.
Thirty-two year old southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-5 2.32 ERA) will head to the hill for the Dodgers in this contest. Last time out, Ryu struck out seven batters in seven innings during a 2-0 road victory against San Francisco.
The Washington Nationals won 50 of their 31 home games during the regular season and now own home field advantage in this best-of-five series. On Friday, Washington SP Stephen Strasburg struck out ten batters and allowed one run over six frames to earn the victory. Trea Turner had two hits and scored a run out of the leadoff spot for the Nationals.
The Nationals will turn to three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (11-7 2.92 ERA) on Saturday. Scherzer ranked third in the National League with 243 strikeouts and fourth with a 1.03 WHIP.
