The Washington Nationals pulled off a huge NLDS upset over the Dodgers, and now they should have an easy road to their first World Series ever.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were going to be the biggest test the Washington Nationals were going to have to their path to the World Series.
They had the star-studded rotation with Walker Buehler dominating along with Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Well, now since the Nationals have gotten past them they should have an easy path to their first World Series appearance in team history.
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St. Louis Cardinals fans aren’t going to like me for this but if you think the Cardinals have a better team than the Nats than you must be a Red Bird fan.
The Nats are going to be set up with much better rotation, especially after Jack Flaherty won’t be scheduled to pitch until Game 3.
Max Scherzer could start Game 2 with four days rest and then start the most important remaining game in the series. Stephen Strasburg has pitched great in the postseason so far, and he is going to pitch at least twice in the series.
Patrick Corbin is also available to start a game or two, as he started Game 1 of the Division Series.
Don’t forget about Anibal Sanchez, who shut down the Dodgers in Game 3 before Max Muncy homered on a fastball that was left down the middle. Sanchez will probably start one of the early games to give Scherzer and Strasburg rest.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, don’t have a very reliable rotation past Flaherty and with Carlos Martinez‘s rocky Division Series, I wouldn’t count on their bullpen to be dominant late in games.
I think the Nats will see a World Series appearance in their future because they have already passed their toughest test.