Washington Nationals: 5 keys to victory in Wild Card Game

1. Scherzer goes deep

The Nationals have the worst bullpen of all the postseason teams, but they make up for it by having one of the best rotations. In the playoffs, where only the top three go, the Nats can put their trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin up against anyone and feel good about their chances. Scherzer will take the ball in the must-win Wild Card Game and will be opposed by Brandon Woodruff, who made only four starts in the second half.

There is a huge mismatch in the starting pitching matchup in favor of the Nationals. For Washington to knock off red-hot Milwaukee, they must get a primetime performance out of Scherzer. These are the type of games that he is being paid $30 million a year for.

Scherzer’s postseason track record has been a bit of a mixed bag to date. He has a 3.73 ERA in 82 career playoff innings, but has a 4.36 ERA and 0-4 record in his last six appearances, which includes an ugly inning of relief in the Nationals loss in the deciding game of the 2017 NLDS against the Chicago Cubs.

Unlike in recent years, Scherzer will enter the playoffs with a lighter regular-season workload under his belt. He made only 27 starts this year and failed to top 200 innings for the first time since 2012. The right-hander is coming off a rocky final month of the season, but is always ready to dial up the intensity in a big spot. The Nationals need seven strong out of him to knock off the Brewers.