NLDS 2016: Keys for All 4 NL Teams to Win Game 3

Many in baseball circles believe that Game 3 of a division series is most important. It makes sense, really.

A Game 3 has one of two scenarios attached to it: Either a team faces an elimination game or has the opportunity to force one.

Both scenarios will play out Monday as the San Francisco Giants find themselves down 2-0 to the Chicago Cubs, and the NLDS pitting the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers is tied at one.

What are the keys for each team to winning this crucial game?

San Francisco Giants

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1. Madison Bumgarner has to be Madison Bumgarner.

There may not be a more celebrated active pitcher for his postseason accomplishments than Madison Bumgarner.

By throwing a complete-game shutout in the NL Wild Card Game against the New York Mets, he proved he is worthy of such praise. But now with his San Francisco Giants facing elimination, he unquestionably will need another banner performance.

San Francisco has struggled to score runs. The Giants' two in Game 2 are the team's only runs of the series. So with few run-scoring opportunities expected to come against Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta, Bumgarner will have little margin for error—if any.

In those situations, there isn't a better guy to have on the mound.

2. Be patient at the plate.

If there's one area in which Arrieta has struggled this season, it's with his efficiency. A number of times this season, Arrieta has carried high pitch counts through the early innings and has seen outings cut short as a result. Take a look at his 2016 game log courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

It will be important for the Giants to remain patient and try to drive Arrieta's pitch count up in the early innings of the game. In eight of his 31 outings this season, he has walked at least four batters.

That could help jump-start San Francisco's offense.

3. Try to find the long ball.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the Giants ranked 28th with 130 home runs. They are certainly not a team that relies upon or even has significant power in its lineup.

But given the quality of Monday's pitching matchup, it's reasonable to expect the game will be close. Closely contested postseason games are often changed with just the swing of a bat.

Chicago Cubs

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1. Jake Arrieta needs to return to ace-like form.

Arrieta was thought to be the ace of the team's staff after winning the 2015 NL Cy Young Award and beginning the season looking like one of baseball's most dominant pitchers.

But since late June, Arrieta has struggled with a litany of issues, namely his previously mentioned walk totals that jettisoned him to No. 3 in the team's playoff rotation.

With the lefty Bumgarner on the mound for the San Francisco Giants, there's little choice but for Arrieta to return to ace-like form. Otherwise, he may be yanked quickly from a series-clinching game for Chicago.

2. Clean up the defensive mishaps.

Sure, the Cubs won Game 2 of the NLDS, but they were fortunate to have done so given the three errors the team committed. The Cubs have been one of baseball's best defensive teams, and in a game in which scoring opportunities might be limited, they can't afford to give away outs.

Also, given Arrieta's recent struggles, he'll need the support of the eight guys in back of him to help continue to stifle the Giants offense.

3. Anthony Rizzo needs to get going.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, considered an NL MVP candidate for much of the season, is without a hit or a walk in the series. It won't get easier for the left-handed hitter facing Bumgarner.

But Rizzo needs to do something to try to get himself going. His OBP this season was .385. So even a walk could get him going on Monday. Either way, he's an important bat in the middle of the Cubs order that needs to start producing.

Washington Nationals

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

1. Get on base ahead of second baseman Daniel Murphy.

New York Yankees great Reggie Jackson might be watching Washington Nationals games with an interested eye. Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy is quickly becoming his era's Mr. October, a nickname given to the aforementioned Yankees great for his postseason play.

For the second straight postseason, Murphy is swinging a hot bat. Last year, he won the NLCS MVP as second baseman with the New York Mets. Now an NL MVP candidate with the Nationals, Murphy is hitting .667/.750/.667 through two playoff games.

The outfielder trio of Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, who hit ahead of Murphy in Game 2, need to get on base and create as many run-producing opportunities as possible.

2. Shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early innings.

The Nationals have allowed six runs combined through the first three innings of both NLDS games thus far. They've played behind in each.

While Washington was successful in winning Game 2, it's not solvent formula to try to rely on late-inning heroics. Gio Gonzalez, who starts on Monday for the Nationals, will need to focus on shutting down the Dodgers through that first trip in the order.

Get through the early innings, and it puts Washington's outstanding bullpen in much better position to close out the game for the team.

3. Someone needs to emerge besides Murphy.

While Murphy is swinging a hot bat, the rest of the Nationals roster, with the exception of first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, has struggled this postseason.

And even Zimmerman is without an RBI.

Though it's possible Murphy could continue swinging a hot bat, the Nationals can't rely entirely upon that.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

1. Kenta Maeda must remain poised in his postseason debut.

Los Angeles Dodgers rookie pitcher Kenta Maeda has had a promising first year, going 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts. But he'll be in an entirely different atmosphere Monday when he makes his postseason debut.

It will be important for catcher Yasmani Grandal to try to settle Maeda's nerves.

2. Get on base ahead of Justin Turner.

Like Murphy, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner has also caught fire over the first two games of the postseason. Turner is slashing .667/.778/1.167 through the first two games of this series.

So naturally, second baseman Chase Utley and shortstop Corey Seager need to get on base in front of him. A hitter as hot as Turner can't be nearly as effective hitting without runners on base.

Utley and Seager have each recorded a .222 OBP so far this postseason.

3. Continue to play clean baseball defensively.

The Dodgers didn't commit any errors in Game 2, a trend that will need to continue on Monday, particularly given that the team is starting a rookie pitcher.

The game allows 27 outs, and it's crucial not to give a team more. They spark big innings and increase a pitcher's pitch count. The playoffs don't discriminate between an earned or unearned run.