Dodgers Dugout: Breaking down the Game 4 win over the Nationals

Chase Utley gets the key hit for the Dodgers.

By Houston Mitchell

Oct. 12, 2016 9:40 AM PT

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, still trying to get my heart restarted after Game 4.

Breaking down Game 4

--That was an amazing game and fun to watch from beginning to end. I could have lived without the Nationals scoring those three runs in the seventh, but it made the victory that much better.

--Here’s what I love about baseball: The winning rally was caused by a guy no one had even heard of in April, a guy who can barely run and a guy who looks like he’s about 60 years old.

--The biggest mistake I have made in this newsletter is saying before the season that the Dodgers should not have re-signed Chase Utley. I don’t think the Dodgers would have made the playoffs without him.

--Clayton Kershaw vs. Bryce Harper in the seventh inning was as dramatic as it gets. I was getting goose bumps watching it. The 2014 league MVP vs. the 2015 league MVP. Which brings me to ...

--Can someone start a GoFundMe account to get laser eye surgery for plate umpire Tom Hallion? He obviously is having trouble with his vision because Kershaw had a couple of guys struck out in the seventh inning, and Yasiel Puig did not make a full swing when Hallion called him out.

--Most postseason home runs in Dodgers history:

Duke Snider – 11

Steve Garvey – 10

Adrian Gonzalez – 6

Ron Cey – 6

Davey Lopes – 6.

--Note to Dave Roberts: Never, ever bring in Pedro Baez with runners on base. He can’t handle the pressure.

--Kershaw did exactly what an ace does. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled all night and gave his team a chance to win. And even without his best stuff, he still struck out 11.

--Harold Reynolds had quite the day in the booth. He misidentified pitches, said things that were flat-out wrong, said the Dodgers should remove Kershaw, then when they left him in said this is what makes baseball great, called a 91-mph breaking ball a changeup and generally talked so much during some at-bats that the play-by-play guy couldn’t break in to call the game. But I learned something fun: If you turn your TV up really loud, you can actually hear boothmates Kenny Albert and Tom Verducci rolling their eyes when Reynolds talks.

--How great was it to see Andre Ethier be a key part of a game-winning rally?

--As I write this, the Dodgers still haven’t named their Game 5 starter. Rich Hill says he’s going to start. It’s either going to be Hill or Julio Urias. I’d go with Urias. But this is one of those games where everyone is available except Kershaw. They can’t afford to let the Nationals jump out to a 3-0 lead with Max Scherzer pitching.

The rest of the schedule

Game 5: Thursday, Dodgers (TBA) at Washington (Max Scherzer) 5 p.m. PT. TV: FS1

In case you missed it

What our great crew of Los Angeles Times reporters are saying about the Dodgers:

Andre Ethier gets a chance and helps save the Dodgers season

Joe Blanton continues to be the Dodgers best reliever in the NLDS

Dodgers give Highland Park fans a workout and a win

What others are saying

Dave Roberts almost cost the Dodgers their season

Inside the decision to start Clayton Kershaw in Game 4

The eighth inning and the epitome of the Dodgers

And finally