LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jayson Werth always wanted to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium when he played two seasons in the venerable ballpark. His latest attempt came close with a 450-foot blast into the upper reaches of the left-field pavilion.

Werth’s homer helped break open a one-run game in the ninth inning, moving the Washington Nationals within one victory of taking a postseason series for the first time with an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff.

Heck, he even tied Babe Ruth with his 15th career postseason homer, good for 11th all-time.

“Ever since Dusty (Baker) moved me into the two-hole, I just felt like my job is to get on base for the animals behind me,” said Werth, whose three hits tied a postseason career high.

Four relievers combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings, putting the Nationals in position to wrap up the NL Division Series on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

“They work quick and they’re not afraid to go after anybody,” said third baseman Anthony Rendon, who hit a two-run homer in a four-run third that chased Kenta Maeda.

Werth added, “It gives us confidence. I feel like the bullpen is going to hold up and that might not have been the case or the feeling in years past.”

NL East champions for the third time in five years, the Nats were unable to advance during their two previous trips to the postseason. They lost in the Division Series to St. Louis in 2012 and San Francisco in 2014.

“I’m hoping this is our year,” Werth said. “We’re battle-tested, we’re playoff-tested, and we’ve got a good group of guys. We’ve been playing together a long time now, so I feel like this is our opportunity.”

Now 37 and with his 2008 World Series championship in Philadelphia long behind him, Werth senses time encroaching on him.

“Obviously, I can’t play this game forever,” he said. “So I feel like this is our chance and I also feel like maybe this is my last chance to do it.”

The franchise has won one playoff series — the Montreal Expos beat Philadelphia following the strike-shortened 1981 season before losing to the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

The team moved from Montreal to Washington before the 2005 season.

Playing 23 hours after the Nationals tied the series at home in a rain-postponed Game 2, the Dodgers again struggled against left-handed pitching, a problem throughout the season when they had a major league-worst .213 average against lefties.

Four Washington lefty relievers stymied the Dodgers in the first two games. Facing lefty starter Gio Gonzalez in Game 3, they got three runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The only Dodgers hitter with proven success against Gonzalez was catcher Carlos Ruiz, and he came through with a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the fifth that cut their deficit to 4-3.

“I made one bad pitch, but the bullpen was incredible,” Gonzalez said. “It’s tough to go on the road and win in the playoffs. I went after them but I wish I had that one pitch back.”

After that, the Dodgers mustered just a pair of singles off a Nats’ bullpen that included lefties Sammy Solis and Oliver Perez, and didn’t advance a runner past first base. Solis wound up with the win.

Now, the four-time defending NL West champions are facing elimination.

“We’re not afraid of this,” rookie manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s no quit in our guys. We’ll be ready tomorrow to win a baseball game, I can promise you that.”

It was still 4-3 when Werth homered on a 1-0 pitch from All-Star closer Kenley Jansen leading off the ninth.

Ryan Zimmerman added a two-run double that bounced off right fielder Josh Reddick’s glove at the wall — the hit scored Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper, who both walked.

Jansen, the team’s all-time saves leader, was yanked. Los Angeles used all seven of its relievers in the game.

Maeda gave up four runs and five hits in three innings. The Japanese right-hander who won a team-leading 16 games is one of seven rookies on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster.

“Kenta was missing and getting behind,” Roberts said. “His fastball leaked back behind the plate and they made him pay. It was a good game until the ninth. That’s baseball.”

Maeda retired the side in the second, striking out two, before wilting in the third. He opened the inning by giving up four hits in five batters.

Werth’s RBI double in the right-field corner tied the game 1-all. Harper hit an RBI single and Rendon followed with his two-run shot to the left-field pavilion for a 4-1 lead.

Dodgers rookie Corey Seager continued his first-inning success in the series, hitting an RBI double off the wall for a 1-0 lead after homering in the first inning of Games 1 and 2.

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Arrieta’s early 3-run homer doesn’t hold, Cubs lose Game 3

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jake Arrieta had so boldly proclaimed October ace Madison Bumgarner could be beaten, and the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner nearly made it happen with his bat and that big right arm.

Arrieta hit a three-run homer in the second inning that held up for most of the night, but the game was decided by the bullpens hours later, and the Chicago Cubs will have to wait another day to try to earn their spot in the NL Championship Series.

Joe Panik doubled off the wall in right-center field to drive in Brandon Crawford with the winning run in the 13th inning, and the Giants staved off elimination again by outlasting the Cubs 6-5 on Monday in Game 3 of their NL Division Series.

The wild-card Giants forced Tuesday night’s Game 4 back at their raucous, sold-out ballpark, postponing a potential Cubs clinch party. Chicago leads the best-of-five playoff 2-1 and will send John Lackey to the mound opposite lefty Matt Moore.

“We played it hard, we played it right — and they beat us,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Panik came through on the 57th pitch from Mike Montgomery, who was working his fifth inning of relief. Brandon Crawford hit a leadoff double on an 0-2 curveball.

“It’s definitely disappointing the way it ended, but I think we’ll come back tomorrow ready to go,” Montgomery said.

San Francisco won its 10th straight game when facing postseason elimination. The Giants are trying to extend their pattern of even-year championships after winning the World Series in 2010, ’12 and ’14.

Panik’s big hit ended a 5-hour, 4-minute game that was only 29 minutes shy of the total time it took to play the first two series games combined last week at Wrigley Field.

“We just have to have a short memory, forget about it. It’s over, just go out there tomorrow and get the victory,” Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said. “It’s not easy. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Rookie left-hander Ty Blach was the winner, escaping a 13th-inning jam when pinch-hitter David Ross bounced into a double play.

Kris Bryant hit a tying, two-run homer off Giants closer Sergio Romo in the ninth after San Francisco rallied for three runs to take the lead in the eighth against Aroldis Chapman.

Bryant’s drive hit the top of the left-field fence and bounced into the seats, silencing the orange towel-swirling sellout crowd. The slugger received a warm hug of congratulations in the dugout from Chapman, who had just given up the lead.

With Bumgarner’s remarkable postseason scoreless streak at 24 innings, Arrieta drove a 1-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers in the second inning — and, as a bonus, a man in a blue Cubs cap caught it and jumped for joy at his good fortune.

Arrieta’s mouth hung wide open as he rounded the bases, pumping his pitching arm.

It was Arrieta’s fifth career home run, and the first Bumgarner had given up to a pitcher in his seven-year big league career.

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Indians top Ortiz, Red Sox 4-3, complete sweep, reach ALCS

BOSTON (AP) — The ball settled into the right fielder’s glove, the Cleveland Indians poured onto the diamond and the Fenway fans fell silent.

Then, slowly from the crowd rose a chant of “Pa-pi!”

Cleveland swept the Red Sox out of the postseason and sent David Ortiz into retirement on Monday night with a 4-3 victory that completed a three-game AL Division Series sweep. But even as the Indians frolicked on the field in their celebratory hats and T-shirts, Boston fans weren’t ready to let their beloved Big Papi go.

“I’m glad he didn’t get a hit to beat us,” manager Terry Francona said after leading the Indians to just the second postseason sweep in franchise history. “I thought it was an honor to be on the field, competing against him in his last game, because he’s truly one of the best. You could tell the way people were hanging around yelling his name and everything. He deserves every bit of that.”

Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer , closer Cody Allen got four outs and the Indians advanced the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2007. That year, they took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against Boston before losing three in a row.

Cleveland also blew a 2-0 lead against Boston in the best-of-five round in 1999.

But this year there would be no fold.

Perhaps inspired by the Cavaliers’ NBA title — the city’s first pro sports championship since 1964 — the Indians shut down Ortiz and the most prolific offense in the league. Rookie Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run single and Josh Tomlin pitched five strong innings for the Indians, who will open the ALCS at home against Toronto on Friday.

Cleveland went 4-3 this year against the wild-card Blue Jays, who swept AL West champion Texas to reach the ALCS for the second straight year.

“Nobody in this clubhouse doubts what we’re what capable of,” reliever Andrew Miller said as music blared and corks popped in the visitors’ clubhouse. “I think we saw in our games in Cleveland how much support we have. It’s a special place to be. I think we have bigger things ahead of us, but it’s not going to be any easier.”

To advance, the Indians had to shut down the most prolific offense in the major leagues and weather the emotional farewell to Ortiz . The Red Sox designated hitter went 1 for 9 in the series, collecting a sacrifice fly in Game 3 before walking on four pitches in his final plate appearance .

Ortiz was lifted for a pinch runner in the eighth and left to a standing ovation.

But that wasn’t enough for the crowd of 39,530 — the largest at Fenway since at least World War II. Chanting “We’re not leaving!” and “Thank you, Pa-pi!” for more than 10 minutes while the Indians celebrated their victory, the crowd finally drew the beloved slugger back onto the field.

Wearing a red warmup and a scowl on his face, Ortiz lumbered out to the mound and tipped his cap in all directions, tapping his heart. Only when the camera zoomed in on him did it become apparent that the frown was not regret over an early postseason exit: Big Papi was crying.

“Tonight when I walked to the mound, I realized that it was over. It was pretty much probably the last time as a player to walk in front of a crowd,” Ortiz told reporters afterward. “And the emotion came back out again.”

After two minutes, Ortiz retired to the dugout and retired for good, ending to a career that brought three World Series titles to Boston and transformed the once-futile franchise into winners.

“I’m happy, not just for me, not just how my career went down, but for the organization, the step that we took, from going from last place to win the division this year,” he told reporters. “Even if things didn’t end up the way we were looking for … it’s like going from bad to good, from day to night.”

Making it their goal to send their beloved Big Papi out as a winner, the Red Sox managed to win the AL East — the second time in four seasons they went from worst to first.

Boston raised fans’ hopes with an 11-game winning streak in September but then lost eight of its last nine games, including the playoffs. After winning the first two games in the best-of-five AL Division Series, and then waiting an extra day because of Sunday’s rainout, the Indians it took a 2-0 lead off Clay Buchholz in the fourth inning on Naquin’s single.

Tomlin gave up Andrew Benintendi’s Green Monster-scraping RBI double in the fifth, which gave some life to the Fenway crowd.

But with one run in, one out, one on and the fans taunting the Indians starter — “Tom-lin! Tom-lin!” — he struck out Sandy Leon on a pitch in the dirt and then Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to first. In the sixth, Crisp hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall to make it 4-1.

Buchholz allowed two runs and six hits in four innings, joining David Price and Rick Porcello as postseason losers.

Tomlin allowed two runs on four in five-plus innings. Miller pitched two innings , Bryan Shaw got two outs and Allen came on to face Ortiz with two out and a man on first in the eighth.

After walking on four pitches , Ortiz stood on first and waved his arms at the mostly dormant crowd. The fans rose to cheer for him and stayed there as Hanley Ramirez singled to make it 4-3.

Now representing the tying run at second, Ortiz was lifted for pinch-runner Marco Hernandez, leaving the field to a raucous cheer. But even after coming out of the game, his work wasn’t done: With one foot on the top step of the dugout, he continued to cheer the team on.

Xander Bogaerts hit a hard line drive to second and Ortiz jumped onto the dirt, only to turn around and walk dejectedly back into the dugout when it was caught for the last out.

In the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. singled with two out and Dustin Pedroia drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Travis Shaw worked the count full before popping up to end it.

“I was cheering so bad,” Ortiz said. “Once I got out of the game I was screaming at my team to put me back in it. Make me wear this uniform one more day. Because I wasn’t ready to be over with the playoff.”