WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer said he learned a lesson from his first postseason start, which came on Oct. 2, 2011, at Yankee Stadium when he played for the Detroit Tigers.Scherzer entered that game with a different mindset than he used in regular-season games, and he proceeded to walk two batters in the first inning and four overall in six innings. Scherzer won the game but from then on tried to have the same approach for every outing.On Friday he will take the mound at about 5:38 p.m. ET to face lefty Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park. Scherzer was 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA in regular-season play while Kershaw was 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA.All of the chips are on the line, Scherzer said Thursday. That fact that I get the ball, man, you couldnt ask for a better situation. It is going to be fun. It is what you play this game for. This is the best opportunity I could face. You want to be in these situations. It should be a good experience. I cant wait to come out here. It is the same game (but) every pitch is just a little bit more magnified.Washington manager Dusty Baker said Thursday that rookie Pedro Severino would be the catcher Friday. But Baker would not say which pitcher the Nationals will start in Game 2 Saturday.Kershaw was on the disabled list in July and August but returned to make five starts late in the season.There is no other person I would rather have on the mound tomorrow night, Dodgers first-year manager Dave Roberts said before a workout at Nationals Park on Thursday. What I learned to appreciate was the four days in between (starts). That is what makes him great.Kershaw is 2/3 in NLDS series and 0-3 in the NLCS.It is always fun to start the series, get to pitch in Game 1. It is an honor, Kershaw said Thursday. The team wants you to be out there. That is a good feeling. I think in the past I have felt that (postseason) pressure more. This year has been a little bit different for me, watching on the sidelines for two months. (Scherzer) has had an amazing year. We know we have our hands full for sure. Hopefully it should be a good game.Kershaw allowed one run in seven innings against the Nationals on June 20 in Los Angeles, but has a 4.59 career postseason ERA.He is one of the best. I cant wait to compete against him, Scherzer said. You dont shy about from it. You embrace it.Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman also welcomes the challenge. He is hitting .318 in 22 at-bats against Kershaw. Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth is hitting .313 with two homers in 32 at-bats against him.Just go out there and try to hit strikes. There is no secret to it; he is really good at what he does, said Zimmerman, who hit just .218 overall this season. In the playoffs it comes down to pitching and defense.Scherzer is 2-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 10 games, with eight starts, in his career against the Dodgers.Kershaw is 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA in 14 games, with 13 starts, against Washington. He was 1-0 this year after giving up six hits and one run in seven innings on June 20 in Los Angeles.Washington right fielder Bryce Harper is 1-for-15 against Kershaw. He is one of the great pitchers in baseball. But we have a great lineup, Harper said.Nationals center fielder Trea Turner, who has also played short and second, will leadoff in his first postseason game at the Major League level. He hit .342 with 13 homers and 33 steals in 39 tries in 73 games after spending the first half of the year at Triple-A Syracuse.You just try to go up there and have good at-bats. He is one of the best pitchers in baseball, Turner said.That lineup got a boost when speedy Turner became the regular leadoff hitter.Walks turns into doubles, Harper said of Turner. He loves to play the game. He is going to help us out tremendously.Scherzer was reminded this week that the Nationals lost in the NLDS in 2012 and 2014 and have never won a playoff series.That was the past. This is a whole new team, said Scherzer, who joined the Nationals prior to the 2015 season. There is no reason why we cant win.Baker said that infielder Daniel Murphy, who hit .347 this year, should be ready to start on Friday. He has been out of the starting lineup for about two weeks with a strained glute but took part in batting practice and did some running againThursday.We think hes ready. He looks good, Baker said after Thursdays workout.Severino hit .321 in 16 games and 28 at-bats for the Nationals. Regular catcher Wilson Ramos is out for the year after he tore an ACL in the last week of the season.He is one our two catchers, Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said of Severino. He is going to handle a staff he doesnt know so well. He has gone from a prospect to big leaguer.Dodgers won five of six this year against the Nationals, including two of three in Washington.Dusty is one of the best in the game in keeping the clubhouse together, Roberts said.Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been ruled out of the NLDS due to a flexor mass strain. It would be easy if we had Strasburg, Baker said, when asked about a Game 2 starter. Most likely it will be right-hander Tanner Roark or lefty Gio Gonzalez against Rich Hill of the Dodgers. Bruins Jerseys China . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Wholesale Custom Bruins Shirts . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. http://www.custombruinsjersey.com/custom-eddie-shore-jersey-large-72t.html . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Custom Bruins T-shirts .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Custom Bruins Jerseys . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. PHOENIX -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had a little extra energy on the court Saturday.The second-year pro learned just before the game that his mother had been flown in to Arizona to watch her son play. She watched from her second-row seat as Hollis-Jefferson scored a career-high 20 points with 13 rebounds in the Brooklyn Nets 122-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns.Just to have her here, that was more special to me than the 20 points, Hollis-Jefferson said. I winked at her about three times.Brooklyn got its first road win of the season, scoring 17 straight points late in the fourth quarter to extinguish the Suns comeback attempt.The Nets held a 102-100 lead with 4:16 to play when their decisive run began. It included Brook Lopezs 3-pointer with 1:47 to go to make it 113-100, and some tight defense on the Suns top scorers.Defense, it gives you that energy, that joy that you want. When you stop someone and you go down and score, its like `Woo! That was fun! Hollis-Jefferson said. We enjoy that whole process, the stop and the score.Trevor Booker added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Sean Kilpatrick had 19 points and nine boards for the Nets. Joe Harris also scored 19 points.T.J. Warren scored 18 points for the Suns. Jared Dudley added 17 off the bench.The Suns fell apart after Devin Bookers short jumper pulled them within two points with a little more than 4 minutes left and lost for the third time in four games.Phoenix shot a season-low 37.4 percent. The Suns 107 shot attempts were the highest in an NBA game this season, regulation or overtime.This is the first team that played the defense the way they played it, Suns coach Earl Watson said. They ... made us play out of the weak side, so they did a great job of taking away the paint, taking away the lane.The Suns took a lot of shots early in possessions.We just locked down defensively, Trevor Booker said. We shut down their transition and made them play half court.Harris two free throws gave Brooklyn its biggest leaad of the first half at 57-41 with 1:08 to go.dddddddddddd The Nets finished the half up 58-45 after leading by double digits for the last 5:19.TIP-INSNets: G Jeremy Lin remains out with a strained left hamstring. He watched Saturdays game from the bench and is expected to be re-evaluated this coming week. ... F Isaiah Whitehead missed his second straight game with a concussion and was not with the team Saturday.Suns: C Tyson Chandler remains away from the team due to a family matter and missed his third straight game. ... Rookie Tyler Ulis played 11 minutes, the most action hes seen since getting 18 on Halloween against the Los Angeles Clippers and the third game in which hes played this season.ANOTHER COACH, ANOTHER COMPLIMENTAdd the Nets Kenny Atkinson to the list of NBA coaches who have praised Bookers game. Im impressed with the confidence, the swagger he plays with and the attack mentality, Atkinson said.Booker, the teams leading scorer at 21.5 points per game coming in, made only 5 of 18 shots and finished with 11 points.CHRISS SHOTSSuns rookie Marquese Chriss got his third start and finished with a career-high 16 points. Chriss eclipsed his high of seven shot attempts before halftime, and took 15 in the game.LOUD FAN HEARS ITA vociferous fan sitting a few rows up from the court yelled at Watson to take Booker out of the game after a missed shot in the fourth quarter. The fan had been critical of the Suns all night, and Watson turned to him and calm but audibly said Shut up.BROOK BLOCKSNets center Brook Lopez set the season high for blocks for a Nets player with four, three of those in the first five minutes.UP NEXTNets: At the Clippers on Monday night, their first of two straight games against the Los Angeles teams in the Staples Center.Suns: At Golden State on Sunday night, their third set of back-to-back games of the season. ' ' '