He's struck out 20 batters in one outing.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot). Chicago Cubs pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) celebrates after Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016.

The Dodgers used starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw on short rest, gambling on a strong effort with Los Angeles facing elimination, and the move paid off despite early trouble.

SHAWN THEW/EPA/NewscomMore than 40,000 fans are expected to pack into Nationals Park on Thursday night for a winner-take-all playoff game between the Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a bulldog.

If he can do that, he can own the biggest game of his life. Alas, the DC metro doesn't have to turn a profit to continue to operate because it's going to get its funding from the taxpayers of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., whether it's open at the conclusion of Thursday's game or not-in fact, it recently got an extra $1 billion annually because it's so terrible. After winning the AL wild-card game in extra innings, the Blue Jays also wrapped up the ALDS in exciting, walk-off fashion. The two division winners are tied at two games apiece and now will square off for the right to face the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. It was a gut-wrenching defeat, but it was the Nationals' first playoff appearance - and a somewhat surprising breakthrough at that.

The first four games of the series have averaged almost four hours. When it came to the fourth game in the best of five series the Dodgers found a way to keep their heads above water. The Nationals now lead the best-of-five series, 2 to 1.

U.S. eyeing FIFA World Cup in rare Cuba trip
That led to a counter-attack from Cuba that almost resulted in a goal - Maikel Reyes hitting the post from 10 yards away. The ball never seemed to roll flat on the surface and the bumpy field resulted in frustrations from the US players.

"I got out there and focused and fought", he said. "But we do have Max". Kershaw's overall postseason ERA now sits at 4.83.

"Man, that's what baseball is all about right there", Washington manager Dusty Baker said. Los Angeles has made the best out of the rough situations they have faced this season. "If we had that outlook, we're probably packing up our lockers and going home today".

So he entered the dark alley of a seventh inning in October - where Kershaw's legacy has been mugged before - with a 5-2 lead. Just get a base hit. "I mean, it took 50-something years to get one here", quipped manager Bruce Bochy, whose bullpen management was scrutinized throughout a disappointing second half. But he's started just one game on three days' rest in his major-league career: He allowed five runs over three innings for the Baltimore Orioles on July 21, 2009. He threw 30 or 31 pitches instead of the scheduled 35. So a deep outing isn't likely, which would afford Washington another crack at a worn out Dodgers bullpen.

"I'm pitching Thursday", Hill said in the post-game locker room. The Nationals went with Joe Ross, a talented pitcher with shoulder problems that have prevented him from going deep into games. That changed when the Dodgers lost 8-3 in Game 3 on Monday. "In 1991, when the system was physically 25% smaller with 12 fewer stations running shorter, less frequent trains (and was 18 years younger), the system had 33 percent more downtime than it did at the start of this year". We've seen great pitching, we've seen great offence, great bullpens, clutch hitting. One of the greatest in baseball. If they advance, I centrally think there is going to be huge demand.

Javier Baez's tiebreaking single capped a four-run ninth-inning rally, and the Cubs beat the Giants 6-5 on Tuesday night in Game 4 to win their NL Division Series.

The approach worked - Harper went 1 for 4 with a single and a sacrifice fly, scoring only three runs - because Ryan Zimmerman was hitting cleanup behind Harper at the time.