LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw left with a lead in the seventh inning and the bases loaded. After the bullpen faltered, veterans Chase Utley and Andre Ethier rescued the Dodgers.Utley singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the eighth, and Los Angeles avoided elimination Tuesday with a 6-5 victory over the Washington Nationals that forced a deciding Game 5 in their NL playoff.Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for a save, one day after giving up four late runs during Los Angeles loss in Game 3.I got out there and focused and fought, he said.Game 5 is Thursday in Washington, with 20-game winner Max Scherzer set to pitch for the Nationals.Man, this is going to be a heck of a ballgame, Scherzer said. The effort from both sides over the first four games has been incredible. Great pitching, great hitting, defense, everything.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he will use left-hander Rich Hill and rookie Julio Urias, but did not announce which one will start.If anyone gives up on this team, they havent seen us play a whole lot this year, Roberts said, and it starts with what Clayton did -- short rest and leaving it all out there. Everyone fed off that.After failing to close out the Dodgers on the road, Washington will get one more chance Thursday to win a playoff series for the first time since the franchise relocated from Montreal. NL East champions in three of the past five years, the Nationals were unable to advance during their two previous trips to the postseason.Thats why we fought so hard for the home-field advantage, manager Dusty Baker said. This year, its coming to fruition.Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who turned to Kershaw on three days rest to salvage their season.The score was tied 5-all with two outs in the eighth when Andrew Toles got hit by a pitch from loser Blake Treinen. Ethier followed with a single to left and Utley singled to right, scoring Toles from second for a 6-5 lead.Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, the Nats had runners on first and second against Kershaw with two outs. The crowd chanted Kershaws name as he and Bryce Harper battled through eight pitches before Harper drew a walk.Man, thats what baseball is all about right there: a matter of will, Baker said. Kershaw was on empty. We knew it. They knew it. Everybody knew it.Harpers walk loaded the bases and chased Kershaw, who walked off with his head down. He sat alone in the dugout with his head resting on his right hand.Kershaw was outstanding, Baker said. Thats one of the best performances Ive seen, especially on three days rest.But the Dodgers bullpen nearly gave the game away.Pedro Baez came in and hit Jayson Werth with his only pitch, forcing in a run to make it 5-3. Baez got booed off the field.Daniel Murphys single off Luis Avilan dropped between Toles and Joc Pederson in left-center field, scoring two runs to tie it at 5. Avilan also heard boos.Joe Blanton, who earned the win, retired Anthony Rendon on a swinging strikeout to end the inning.Our bullpen has been unbelievable, Kershaw said. Joe did what Joes been doing all season. Hes been through a lot in his career but he came in and shut them down.Desperate to avoid another early playoff exit, the Dodgers went with Kershaw, their three-time Cy Young Award winner who won Game 1 last Friday despite going just five innings and allowing three runs.This time, he was charged with five runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out 11 -- equaling his second-best postseason total -- and walked two.The left-hander was limited to 149 innings while compiling a 1.69 ERA during the regular season. He missed 2 1/2 months with a mildly herniated disk in his back.Kershaw opened the game by giving up a leadoff single and a walk before Murphys RBI single.The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on Gonzalezs two-run shot that scored Justin Turner, who was hit by a pitch from Joe Ross.Werths RBI single tied it 2-all in the third.Los Angeles again answered in the bottom of the inning, with Kershaw getting the rally going with a double to left field. He slid into second and clenched his fists in a rare show of emotion.Kershaw scored on Turners single with two outs. Pederson got hit by a pitch from Ross with the bases loaded, forcing in TurnerRoss made his postseason debut for the Nationals, giving up four runs and three hits in 2 2/3 innings, equaling the shortest playoff start in the history of the Montreal-Washington franchise. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked two. He hasnt pitched more than four innings since coming off the disabled list on Sept. 18.LOOK OUT!Five players were hit by pitches, including four Dodgers, which set a single-game franchise playoff record. Of the quartet, two ended up scoring. Werth was the lone Nationals player to get hit.There have been 11 hit batters in the series, a postseason record.No one on either side is trying to hit anybody with everything on the line right now, Scherzer said. Thats just baseball being played at its highest.TRAINERS ROOMNationals RHP Stephen Strasburg experienced discomfort in his right elbow during a bullpen session Monday at Dodger Stadium. He threw 30 or 31 pitches instead of the scheduled 35. Strasburg has been out since tearing the pronator tendon in his elbow on Sept. 7.Baker said Strasburg was throwing the ball very good and hes not concerned about the pitchers progress. Strasburg has said he would try to return this season if the Nationals advance to the NLCS.SHORT RESTKershaw started a game on three days rest for the fourth consecutive postseason.CANT CLOSE `EM OUTBaker has lost eight consecutive postseason games when his team would have advanced with a victory. Thats the longest such streak in major league history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.ELIMINATION GAMESThe Dodgers improved to 12-15 in postseason elimination games since moving to Los Angeles. Wholesale Rockets Jerseys .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. Cheap Swingman Rockets Jerseys . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. http://www.cheaprocketsjerseys.com/ . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vincent Edwards Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Cheap Rockets Jerseys . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Warwickshire 131 for 3 (Trott 59*) trail Hampshire 531 (Wheater 204*, Ervine 75, Poysden 4-85) by 400 runsScorecard For someone who does not see himself as a specialist batsman, Adam Wheater managed a fairly convincing impression of a cricketer with a considerable future in the role as Hampshire amassed their largest total in a Championship match in almost three years.Dropped by Hampshire at the end of May when first-team coach Dale Benkenstein decided he wanted 21-year-old Lewis McManus to take over as wicketkeeper, Wheater marked his second appearance since being recalled only as a batsman with a maiden double-hundred that showcased qualities he perhaps doubted he had.Naturally an aggressive hitter, strong on both sides of the wicket, Wheater turned his overnight 89 into a 147-ball century inside the first half hour, following a slightly delayed start, before taking advantage of an overworked Warwickshire attack to advance to 200 in just 79 deliveries more.He gathered 27 fours and hit three sixes, two of them off Keith Barker, who with Rikki Clarke willingly shouldered the extra burden created by Boyd Rankins absence with back spasms but found himself flagging at times on a pitch that remained stubbornly unresponsive.Wheater passed his previous best when he moved on from 164, the score he made for Essex against Northamptonshire in 2011, and went to 200 by reverse sweeping Jeetan Patel, whose stamina was also heavily tested in a series of long spells that added up to 48 overs in total.Wheater, who left Essex in 2013 to further his ambitions with the gloves, has found himself relieved of his duties behind the stumps for the second time since making the move, having previously had to make way for Michael Bates.Benkenstein now wants McManus to have an extended run, feeling that he brings more energy to the role and at the same time considers Wheater should focus on developing as a specialist batsman.I rate Wheats batting but Ive given him a very long run as a keeper and dont feel hes improved in a few areas I think are very important, Benkenstein said recently. But as a batter hes still very young with a huge career ahead of him. Our top order are quite short of runs and hes got a real chance of making his way in this team as a batter.Wheater begs to differ, insisting that he wants to contribute more than one discipline to the team effort and that he will fight to win back the gloves again.I wass disappointed [with the decision] and the hierarchy at Hampshire know I want to keep, he said.ddddddddddddI didnt see that I was doing much wrong. I see myself as a keeper-batsman. I cant bowl and I dont just want to just be fielding. But having said that, when they asked me to play as a batsman in the top six I was going to take that rather than playing in the seconds. I feel I have battled to get back to where I was a couple of years ago with my batting and I feel in a good place.Thats my role now, to score runs and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to be able to contribute as I have in this match. But things change quickly in cricket and as far as keeping is concerned all I can do is take any opportunity that comes along.Wheater passed 5000 first-class runs during his partnership runs with Sean Ervine, who coincidentally reached the milestone of 10,000 during their 144-run stand for the sixth wicket.When Ervine chipped Patel straight to short extra cover to be out for 75, however, it precipitated an unforeseen flurry of wickets -- five in the space of 20 deliveries with only nine more runs added -- and reward for Patel and Josh Poysden, the young legspinner, who picked up the last three for career-best figures of 4 for 85.Losing Boyd through injury was tough but we worked really hard as a unit, Poysden said. I thought we kept going and kept fighting and to get the last five wickets for nine runs was really nice as we finally got what we deserved.On days one and two in first-class cricket you are not really expecting it to spin so I knew they were going to come quite hard at me when I bowled but that gives me a chance to get wickets so I never mind that.Warwickshires reply got off to a stuttering start, Andrew Umeed leaving a ball from Gareth Andrew that came back and clipped off stump before Ian Bell played inside one from Gareth Berg, at which point 11 for 2 on the scoreboard would have been a considerable fillip for a makeshift Hampshire attack.Andrew claimed another success at the start of his second spell as Varun Chopra played down the wrong line but Jonathan Trott and Sam Hain added an unbroken 53 for the fourth wicket. Trott might have been out on 59 near the close, giving a chance off Berg that McManus might have taken had he been standing further back. ' ' '