Game 1 may be everything for the Washington Nationals.
The Nats can't trail the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which begins at Nationals Park Oct. 7. Their ace, Max Scherzer, faces Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, and relying on starters Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzales to rally past an opening loss in the next two games may be too much.
Take the first game, and the Nats might sweep the Dodgers. But splitting the first two games in Washington gives Los Angeles a big advantage, because the Dodgers were a solid 53-28 at home versus 38-43 on the road this season. Letting Kershaw own Washington from the start is a bad omen.
