It’s been rare to see the Dodgers not have total responsibility of a game. Maybe I’m biased and expect the 106 win Dodgers to be fully liable for their wins and losses. It’s hard not to think this way about a team that had the ability do whatever they wanted during the regular season. They won because they were their normal, good selves or lost because they screwed up against a lesser team. So I couldn’t do much other than throw my hands up when Game 4’s Devil Magic reared its ugly head and threw that paradigm out the window.

The game seemed like it would play out similarly to the first three of the series. After Hill danced around bases loaded trouble and Kenta bailed him out in the bottom of the third, the pen looked to continue its success. At least, until Will Smith set Pedro Baez up for a high fastball against Ryan Zimmerman (who loves swinging at high fastballs).

The pitch Ryan Zimmerman just hit out was the highest pitch the @Nationals have hit a home run on this whole season... 3.76 ft off the ground pic.twitter.com/pnszYbhso5

— Daren Willman (@darenw) October 8, 2019

Ah yes, the same Ryan Zimmerman that had a 89 wRC+ did that. If there was ever a sign that the Nationals were finally going to have something break their way, it was their franchise icon doing something like that. The entire game was filled with moments like that.

• Wind causing Bellinger to lose a Trea Turner ball in the outfield
• Rain coming down only when the Dodgers batted
• Scherzer escaping his own 7th inning jam thanks to a Chris Taylor whiff and a Joc Pederson foul ball that landed 2 or 3 inches outside of the foul line
• Wind knocking down a Max Muncy shot with a 107.0 mph barrel with a .910 xBA !!!!

Throughout this series, I’ve been quick to blame the hitters for not being up to snuff against the Nationals. This time around, I’m not sure what to think. Acts of God willed the Nationals towards victory, and once my mind absolved them from their duty to win the game I found it easy to find signs of life amongst the hitters.

Lux and Smith adjusted and strung together solid PAs against Scherzer in the 7th inning after looking completely lost against him earlier in the game, Cody continued his success from yesterday, and the bench has been continuing to succeed. The 7th inning moral ‘wins’ against Scherzer (and Muncy, Turner, and Taylor’s great at bats) showed me that the team just needs reps to get comfortable against a pitcher. That should bode well for them against Strasburg and their limited options in the bullpen for Game 5.

I’m not completely convinced we’ll win Game 5, but this team led the league with a 114 wRC+ from the 7th - 9th innings, which is consistent with what has been happening throughout these games (they just haven’t been knocking those runners in).

I’m trying my best to not make excuses for a team that is facing an elimination game against a lesser team, but hoping on a return to form might be all we have at this point. Especially if we’re going up against a Team of Destiny.