DYK? Key facts from Nats-Dodgers Game 4

The Dodgers staved off potential elimination with a tense, 6-5 victory over the Nationals in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Starter Clayton Kershaw, pitching on three days’ rest, was heroic for most of the afternoon before running into trouble in the seventh. Fortunately for Dodgers fans, 37-year old Chase Utley came to save the day with a tie-breaking RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.

Before the Dodgers and Nationals play a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday in Washington (5 or 8 p.m. ET/2 or 5 p.m. PT on FS1), here are a few things you should know about Los Angeles’ clutch win Tuesday:

Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 7   LAD 4, WAS 3 Gm 2 Oct. 9   WSH 5, LAD 2 Gm 3 Oct. 10   WAS 8, LAD 3 Gm 4 Oct. 11   LAD 6, WAS 5 Gm 5 Oct. 13 5 or 8 p.m. LAD @ WSH FS1 All times listed ET • Division Series start time scenarios • Dodgers vs. Nationals NLDS coverageShop for postseason gear: Dodgers | Nationals

• Utley’s eventual game-winner was the fifth go-ahead hit by a Dodgers player in the eighth inning or later in a game in which the team was facing elimination. The last player to record a go-ahead hit in the late innings of an elimination game for L.A. was Mike Marshall, who homered in the bottom of the eighth in Game 6 of the 1985 NL Championship Series against St. Louis.

• Kershaw notched 11 strikeouts Tuesday, marking the fourth time the lefty has compiled 10 or more punchouts in a postseason game. Those four starts place Kershaw in a tie with Mike Mussina and John Smoltz for the third-most of any pitcher in October; Detroit’s Justin Verlander is the all-time leader with six postseason games with double-digit strikeouts.

Kershaw also generated 21 swinging strikes Tuesday, according to Statcast™, which were the most he has recorded in any postseason game in his career.

Clayton Kershaw had 21 swinging strikes vs Nationals today. It’s his most swinging strikes ever in a postseason game https://t.co/4e1R105633 pic.twitter.com/CTLdIdPW2y

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 12, 2016

Clayton Kershaw had 21 swinging strikes vs Nationals today. It’s his most swinging strikes ever in a postseason game https://t.co/4e1R105633 pic.twitter.com/CTLdIdPW2y

• Unfortunately, Kershaw also added his name to an exclusive list once again. A pitcher has thrown 10 or more strikeouts and been charged with five or more earned runs in a game only three times in postseason history. The first time was Randy …

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