Washington Nationals in the MLB Playoffs 2016: Schedule, Tickets, Predictions

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Nationals have a few days of rest after winning the National League East division and will host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs starting Friday.

After winning the division Sept. 24, the Nats take a 95-67 record into the playoffs. It's the third time in five years that Washington has made it into the postseason, but has yet to advance to the World Series.

Fox Sports is predicting the Dodgers will take the series, saying LA ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the best hurler in baseball. He will shake off poor playoff performances from years past, pitch in Games 1 and 5 and lead the Dodgers to a series win over the Nationals, the experts predict.

But Washington manager Dusty Baker disagrees.

“It depends who’s hot during that series. Right now the Dodgers are playing well and sure any time I can get home field advantage we’ll take it, especially since we don’t have to go back to the coast twice, let them come to us, and so right now we have the lead over them, so there’s no sense giving it up," Baker told reportersthis weekend. "Sometimes they can take it from you, but it’s up to us and it depends on how we play, and like I said, I’d like to finish strong, I always say that all the time, and we have a situation here where we’re at home and we have a chance to finish strong.”

»What are your predictions for the Nationals-Dodgers game? Tell us in the comments!

The Nats last faced the Dodgers in July, and the Dodgers went 5-1 against Washington this season. The Dodgers have not advanced to the National League championship series since 2013, while the Washington Nationals are trying to avoid their third loss in the NLDS over the last five seasons.

First pitch in the Nationals-Dodgers matchup will be at 5:38 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 7, at Nationals Park. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 television and ESPN radio. Subscribers to MLB.TV can watch a live stream online.

Game 2 in the series will start at 4 p.m. Saturday before the teams head to LA for games 3 and 4 on Oct. 10 and 11. Washington will host the fifth and final game in the series on Oct. 13.

Purchase playoffs tickets via the Nationals website.
Photos from Washington Nationals game from Patch archives