FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019 LATIMES.COM/DODGERSPLAYOFFS
DThe first baseball Walker Buehler fired
Thursday was to a fan in the first row of the
reserve level at Dodger Stadium. He
launched it up there from left field before
stepping into the bullpen to warm up for
Game 1 of the National League Division Se-
ries against the Washington Nationals. A
kid with a baseball mitt caught it.
As the crowd thickened and the atmos-
phere grew more tense, Buehler was re-
laxed and ready.
He was tabbed to start the game, over
Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu, be-
cause the Dodgers believe in that moxie
and his talent. They saw his ability to pre-
vail on big stages in Game 163 and in the
World Series a year ago. They wanted the
confident 25-year-old right-hander, fresh
off his first full major league season, to start
twice if the series reaches five games. They
believe he gives them the best chance to win
even after an unsteady September.
Buehler delivered on that promise
Thursday, outdueling Dodgers nemesis
Patrick Corbin with six scoreless innings in
a 6-0 victory Max Muncy helped fuel with
another clutch playoff performance.
The right-hander held the Nationals to
one hit. He compiled eight strikeouts to
three walks and threw 100 pitches, extend-
ing his postseason scoreless streak to 16^2 ⁄ 3
innings, before passing the baton to the
Dodgers’ overhauled bullpen. Adam Ko-
larek, Kenta Maeda and Joe Kelly limited
the Nationals to one hit over the final three
innings.
“If you know Walker, it’s not surprising,”
Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said.MAX MUNCY HEADSfor first after a two-run single in the seventh inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. Muncy also had a bases-loaded walk in the first inning.Photographs by Wally SkalijLos Angeles TimesSWATTING NATS
WITH AN UNDERHANDtoss to first base, Walker Buehler gets out of his only
jam of the night in the fourth inning, as the Nationals left the bases loaded. [SeeDodgers, D13]Buehler shows why
he deserved the big
start and Muncy
delivers the big hit
By Jorge Castillo
Fifteen minutes into a
cooling Thursday night,
the Washington Nationals
were already sweating.
They kicked at the dirt.
They fiddled with their
caps. They stared help-
lessly at a pitcher who was
losing his mind.
Ball four. Ball four. Ball
four. Ball four.
Patrick Corbin had never appeared in a
postseason game in his eight-year career,
but he was in one now, and it furiously
rushed over him like a deep blue Malibu
Beach tide.
A.J. Pollock walked. Cody Bellinger
walked. Chris Taylor walked. Max Muncy
walked.
The Dodger Stadium crowd roared in
disbelief. The Nationals stood frozen in
place. The noise swallowed them. The
atmosphere doomed them.
The Dodgers scored the first run in the
first inning of the first game of the National
League Division Series without lifting a
finger. The Nationals allowed that run
while wringing their hands. It was that way
the entire night, one team embracing
oppressive October, another team wilting
in a strange new place, the Dodgers’ even-
tual 6-0 victory a testament to the power of
seven years of this madness.
The Dodgers have been here, and it
showed. The Nationals have not, and it
showed even more.
The Dodgers were patient, the Nation-
als were panicked. The Dodgers coolly
worked the plate, the Nationals wildly
chased. TheBILL PLASCHKENationals look out
of their element,
overwhelmed in
the playoff opener
[SeePlaschke, D2]Dodgers lead series 1-0W:Buehler L:Corbin GAME 2:Tonight, 6:30 at Dodger Stadium, TBS
06 DIVISION SERIES GAME 1
Cardinals hang on:After a sloppy game in the
field, St. Louis scores four runs in the ninth. D12N
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Complete Houston:Astros, who won 107 games in
the regular season, are as formidable as ever. D12A
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on
MLBNAT
Testing for opioids? MLB wants it, and it could be
linked to fewer restrictions for marijuana use. D3