Hill toppers: Nats solve LA lefty, even NLDS

WASHINGTON -- Jose Lobaton had managed only one hit against a left-handed pitcher this season, and the Nationals had concerns at the start of the National League Division Series that a right-ankle injury would hamper the switch-hitting Lobaton's ability to hit right-handed, which he said he hadn't done in about six weeks.
But Lobaton, hitting right-handed, came through in the fourth inning with a three-run homer into the howling wind at Nationals Park to lead Washington to a 5-2 victory over the Dodgers in Game 2 on Sunday. The series is even as it moves to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 today at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT on MLBN.
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"I didn't think anybody could hit a home run out of left field today, the way that wind was blowing everything back," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "I mean, he had to hit it a ton."
Lobaton thought the same. In fact, an inning prior he had a conversation with home-plate umpire Chris Guccione about how bad the wind was for hitters.
"When I hit the ball, I was like, I think I hit it really good, just I don't know if it's going to go out. And then when it went out, I was like, wow, that's pretty cool," Lobaton said with a laugh.
Lobaton's homer came off Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill, who had begun the game strong with seven strikeouts through three scoreless innings. Hill's curveball kept the Nationals' offense off-balance and the sold-out crowd of 43,826 quiet until it erupted with Lobaton's blast.
"This falls solely on me," said Hill, who was making his first postseason start since 2007. "I believe we're tied in the series because I didn't execute." More >
Daniel Murphy drove in a run in the seventh inning to extend Washington's lead; he finished the game 3-for-3 with two RBIs. He's 4-for-6 in the series. More >

The Dodgers had their scoring opportunities, but left the bases loaded with one out three separate times and stranded 12 runners overall. Corey Seager hit a solo homer in the first inning for the second consecutive game and Josh Reddick had a run-scoring single in the third, but the Dodgers could not take advantage against right-hander Tanner Roark, who allowed two runs in an erratic 4 1/3 innings.
"We had Roark on the ropes and I think it was through five innings, we left 11 guys on base," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "It was just one big hit. We stressed him, and we had an opportunity to really put him away early."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Redemption for Lobaton: For a moment Lobaton seemed as though he might be the goat of Sunday's game during the early innings, spoiling a Nationals scoring chance in the second inning by bouncing into a 1-2-3 double play and failing to make a tag after Bryce Harper's throw from right field beat Justin Turner to the plate in the third.
"I've been trying to put, separate a lot, what happened in the moment and keep going forward," Lobaton said. "But you know, it's something that it's going to happen. The only thing that you've got to do is just play and keep going. There's nothing we can do in the past. It's something that we can do for the next at-bat and concentrate."
All was forgiven after Lobaton's homer, the second of his postseason career, which earned him a curtain call from the Nationals' faithful. More >
Be like Clayton: After striking out the side in the first inning as Clayton Kershaw did in Game 1, Hill escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second, as did Kershaw. Hill got Lobaton on a comebacker that he knocked down before flipping the ball home to start a 1-2-3 inning-ending double play. The Dodgers also cut down a potential big fifth inning when Howie Kendrick fought the wind to catch Anthony Rendon's fly ball, then threw out Harper at the plate trying to tag from third.
"First at-bat, bases loaded, [Hill] threw the right pitch in the right location, ground ball back to him, double play," said catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Nationals bullpen comes up big: The Nationals used an aggressive pitching change and some strong defensive positioning to escape a jam in the fifth inning. After Baker removed Roark from the game, he called upon left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, who issued a walk to load the bases with one out. Rzepczynski bounced back by striking out Yasiel Puig. Then Kendrick lined out to left fielder Jayson Werth, who had been playing more shallow than usual, to end the rally. More >

The Nationals bullpen played a large role in the victory overall as five relievers -- Rzepczynski, Sammy Solís, Blake Treinen, Oliver Pérez and Mark Melancon -- combined to allow one hit in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
"Both sides were aggressively going to their bullpen," Baker said. "This kind of shows you the importance of the bullpen in these playoffs; you know, bullpen and defense." More >

LOB: The Dodgers left 12 runners on base, went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-5 with the bases loaded -- all but one runner was stranded through the fifth inning.
"You never know, tomorrow we might score a bunch of runs later in the game," said Adrián González. "When we get guys out there, we've got to hit it where they're not and get better at-bats." More >

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Danny Espinosa was hit by a pitch in his first two at-bats by Hill, tying a postseason single-game record done 18 previous times, but most recently by the Rangers' Rougned Odor (Oct. 8, 2015 vs. Blue Jays).

WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers:Kenta Maeda, the unexpected workhorse of the rotation, gets his first postseason start at Dodger Stadium. This will be the first time he's faced Washington. He led NL rookies this year in wins (16), starts (31), innings pitched (175 2/3, opponents' batting average (.229) and WHIP (1.14). He was 4-3 against NL East teams.
Nationals:Gio Gonzalez will try to take advantage of the Dodgers' weakness against left-handed pitching. Gonzalez is trying to put behind a forgettable 2016 season in which he finished with a 4.57 ERA, his highest in a full season.