MLB teams
Tim Kurkjian, ESPN Senior Writer 7y

Dodgers-Nationals questions: Will health carry L.A. through NLDS?

MLB, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers

It's as if these teams swapped issues and situations in the last month. In late June, it was the Nationals who were healthy and rolling while the Dodgers were laboring and trying to deal with significant injuries, especially one involving a star pitcher. Now it's the Dodgers who are finally healthier and playing well while the Nationals, though not struggling, are dealing with a number of injuries, including one to a star pitcher. Now the teams play in the National League Division Series with compelling storylines at every turn. Here are five questions.

What do we make of Clayton Kershaw?

He is still the best pitcher in the game, one of the greatest of all time. And despite a back injury that cost him 11 starts, he finished the season with a 1.69 ERA, 11 walks and 172 strikeouts, the greatest walk-strikeout ratio in history for anyone with 150 K's. And he has been very good since returning: 28 innings, 18 hits, four earned runs, two walks and 27 strikeouts. He hasn't completed a game though, and his stamina probably isn't where it should be, but he has been awfully good. Now he enters the playoffs, which brings the usual question: How can anyone this good have a 2-6 record and a 4.59 ERA in his postseason career? Maybe he will be fresher this October, or maybe the stamina won't be there. The Dodgers need him to be good through because he'll be opposed by Max Scherzer in Game 1.

How do the Nationals replace Stephen Strasburg in the rotation?

They can't, he's that good, but at least they are used to this given how injured he has been in his career. After Scherzer, Washington's next-best starter is Tanner Roark, one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Roark went 16-10 this year with a 2.83 ERA, and the league hit just .207 off him the second half of the season. But the key to the series might be Gio Gonzalez. He is left-handed, and the Dodgers really struggle against left-handed pitching: Their OPS against lefties is .622, by far the worst in the league, and way below the league average of .735. Against right-handed pitching, the Dodgers' OPS is .772. Additionally, Roark has some reverse splits going: lefties hit .214 off him, and righties hit .241.

How healthy is Rich Hill?

He is the Dodgers' No. 2 starter, and when he's right, he's really good: Since Sept. 1, 2015, the only major league pitcher with a better ERA than Hill is Kershaw. That arching, angled curveball is really tough to handle, especially for a left-handed hitter. And Washington's two best hitters, Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper, are left-handed. They can hit anyone when they are healthy and swinging well, but Murphy has taken only three at-bats since suffering a buttocks strain on Sept. 17, and Harper has dealt with injuries on and off throughout the year, and finished with a .243 average. If Hill can avoid another blister issue, and Kenta Maeda pitches the way he has most of the season, the Dodgers' rotation is very good.

How much will the Nationals miss Wilson Ramos?

He is the right-handed hitter that would hit between or around the two big left-handed hitters, Murphy and Harper, and now Ramos is gone for the postseason because of a knee injury. This is a terrible loss for the Nationals. Jose Lobaton will be an adequate fill-in defensively, but there is no replacing Ramos' production (.307 average, 20 homers, 82 RBIs). The good thing for the Nationals is that they get production from everywhere on the field: Every position other than pitcher provided at least 20 homers this year.

How much fun will it be to watch the rookies for each team?

Tremendous fun. Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager will win the NL Rookie of the Year, and probably will finish in the top five of the MVP voting. He has been better defensively than some thought, and offensively, he has been terrific, taking such good at-bats all year, against right-handers and left-handers. But the guy that has changed the look of the Nationals has been leadoff man Trea Turner, a shortstop turned second baseman turned center fielder. Despite switching positions, he has put together a remarkable season. In 73 games and 307 at-bats, he hit .342 with a .937 OPS, 14 homers and 33 steals in 39 tries. No player (not just rookies) in major league history has ever hit 10 homers and stolen 30 bases in a season of only 73 games (Rickey Henderson, Davey Lopes and Bobby Bonds all did it in just under 100 games, but none close to 73 games). For the first time since the Nationals got really good a few years ago, they have a leadoff guy who can make something happen with his power and with his speed.

Prediction: Dodgers in five.

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