What's the difference between our pitchers (Zmnn, Martis, Lannan) and Kershaw? Not much really. Talented but young and inexperienced. High ceiling. All have their best days ahead of them.
Kershaw is pitching at home where he is very good. And he is a lefty. Other than that, there isn't any difference (well, besides the fact that he doesn't play for the Nationals).
Why are we even talking about the starters? If the pen has to pitch 3-4 innings, we stand no chance.
No use in even mentioning the Dodgers' pen, they have one of the best in the league. The only way to beat the Dodgers tonight would be to bust the game open versus Kershaw and/or pray for a miracle. Currently their pen has been letting up a league low 3.68 runs/G compared with the Nationals 5.80 (27th in MLB). The Dodgers' pen is also 4th in the league in inherited runners that score at 24%. Washington is 22nd with a IS% of 35%.
