Los Angeles at Washington

This is a long road trip for Los Angeles in this winner-take-all Game 5. Soft throwing 36-year-old Rich Hill is on the mound and the luster has come off the veteran. He was a great pickup for the Dodgers early on, but they are 0-3 his last three starts, allowing 16 hits in 15 innings, six runs. In his first outing against Washington in the NLDS, Hill picked up a loss while allowing four runs over 4.1 innings. The Dodgers are 8-17 away against a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600, plus they are on an 2-8 run in road playoff games. He faces a Washington offense that is tops in baseball in the postseason hitting .340. During the regular season this offense was eighth in runs scored in baseball, #10 in on-base percentage and #11 in slugging. Hard throwing ace Max Scherzer (20-7, 2.96 ERA) goes for the home team with batters hitting .193 at home off him this season in 102 innings, fanning 134, with only 24 walks. The Nationals are 19-7 in his last 26 starts, plus on a 13-6 run at home, and the home team holds all the cards. Take the Nationals to advance.