Walker Buehler Needs to Fully Expect to Outduel Stephen Strasburg in Game 5

The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite having Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu on their roster, will turn to electric young right-hander Walker Buehler to realize a Game 5 win against Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals in the pivotal game of this NLDS series. If that sounds like a ton of pressure to place on an up-and-comer, you're not wrong.

Strasburg has an ERA under 1.00 in the postseason, and the Nationals might have the momentum following Max Scherzer's dominant win, but Buehler should be brimming with confidence as he makes his second home start of the playoffs.

The last time we saw Buehler and his upper-90s fastball, he was allowing just one hit through six innings in Game 1 of this series, striking out eight as the Nationals looked totally lost at the plate.

When you have Buehler's stuff, there is no reason why he should be the least bit scared of the Nationals lineup. That's why he needs to take the bump in this do-or-die Game 5 with the mindset that he's the best pitcher on the field.

The Dodgers certainly didn't expect to be in this situation, but they should rest easy knowing Buehler is getting the ball.