WASHINGTON -- Max Scherzer remembers being urged to try to slow everything down for his postseason debut five years ago.Take an extra breath, they said. Be calm as can be, they said. Dial down the intensity, they said.Not exactly what he needed to hear, Scherzer quickly discovered.Scherzer, who starts Game 1 of the NL Division Series for the Washington Nationals against Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, was fed those frequently heard words of wisdom way back when.Pitching for the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium, he walked two batters in the first inning. Thats when he cursed at himself and realized he never should have listened to others -- and wound up taking a no-hitter into the sixth that day.Scherzer is as intense as they come when hes pitching, and he needed to maintain that in the postseason.Whatever you do to have success in the regular season, do the exact same thing. Yes, the lights are brighter. Yes, the seats are all full. Yes, the start times are weird. Theres tons of media. You have a lot of distractions; youve got family and friends all wanting tickets. The outside things are a little bit different, but mentally, you have to still be the same, Scherzer explained.I know theres this notion of, `Hey, just go out there and relax. Try to slow the game down. That can be the worst advice anybodys ever given, he continued. No, you hit the ground running and do exactly what you do. If you go out there with aggression in the regular season, you do the same thing.So expect to see Scherzer stomping and stalking around the Nationals Park mound on Friday, while facing the likes of Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner and Chase Utley.And they know what theyre in for, even if the Dodgers didnt face Scherzer in 2016, when he went 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA and a majors-leading 284 strikeouts, including a record-tying 20 in one game.Obviously, hes a really good pitcher. Lively fastball. Strikes out a lot of guys, and has won a lot of games for them this year, said Turner, who has never batted against Scherzer. Were going to go study up on him and watch the films and put together a game plan.Thats the same sort of thing the Nationals might be expected to say about Kershaw, a three-time NL Cy Young Award winner who went 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA in only 21 starts this season, missing more than two months with a back injury. Since returning in September, he was 1-2 with a 0.96 ERA in five starts.Scherzer became a leading candidate for this years NL Cy Young Award -- he won the AL honor for Detroit in 2013 -- by becoming, to use his words, better as a pitcher.I continued to evolve, he said, pointing specifically to a cut slider that he throws to left-handed batters.The hitters I face are great. Theres a reason theyre driving nice cars on the other side, Scherzer said. So I had to find more swing-and-miss pitches for lefties, and still find ways to pitch effectively against right-handed hitters.It took Scherzer a while to get going this season: During April and May, he was a combined 5-4 with a 4.05 ERA.He started slow this year, Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa said. But I dont think we expected that to continue.Of course not. From June 1 on, Scherzer was 15-3 with a 2.44 ERA.When its time to shut the game down, to let the other team know that the games over and theyre not getting any runs, its obvious. When he says, `Game over, its game over. You can see it, Espinosa said. You have to have those pitchers who, when you get `em a lead, they keep that lead, and throw a shutdown inning. He does that.Game notes The Dodgers landed in Washington on Wednesday and went to Nationals Park for a workout that started at about 9 p.m. ... Nationals manager Dusty Baker will not commit to a rotation beyond Game 1, although RHP Tanner Roark is expected to start Game 2, and he was the first pitcher on the mound for live batting practice at the start of Wednesdays workout. I dont think theyre trying to play coy just because, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about the Nationals being tight-lipped about their pitching plans, but I dont think it affects us. ... Washington 2B Daniel Murphy still wouldnt say whether he expects to play in Game 1; he hasnt started a game since Sept. 17 because of a strained buttocks muscle.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Wholesale Black Friday Shoes . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. 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Wales No. 8 Taulupe Faletau made his comeback after more than 10 weeks out with a medial knee ligament injury as Bath earned a scrappy 16-9 Aviva Premiership victory over winless neighbours Bristol.Faletau was taken off after 55 minutes in an unspectacular return but the Welsh management will be relieved that he can be considered to face South Africa in Cardiff next weekend.Baths seventh win in eight games put them top of the table - for 24 hours at least - but their mix-and-match line-up could conjure only one try, scored by wing Jack Wilson in the first half.In front of a record attendance at the Rec of 14,241, Bath spent almost all the first 20 minutes tackling and only once had possession inside the Bristol 10-metre line.For all the ball the visitors had in that first quarter, though, they seldom threatened and when they did, poor alignment let them down. Eventually, a 70-metre Tom Homer clearance bounced kindly into touch inside the Bristol 22 and they were suddenly under pressure when Rhodri Williams clearance was charged down.Bath fly-half Rhys Priestland was helped off with a leg injury to be replaced by Adam Hastings, but Homer opened the scoring for Bath with a 19th-minute penalty. Faletau carried strongly from the restart only for his fellow forwards to go off their feet at the ruck and Billy Searle was on target for 3-3.Helped by a dominant scrum the home side had now shrugged off the overrly defensive mindset.dddddddddddd In the 27th minute, Wilson supported flanker Tom Ellis to score under the posts after Matt Banahan had drawn several defenders. Homer converted.Errors were creeping into Bristols game but their work at the breakdown was busy and they forced enough turnovers and penalties to stop Bath finding any rhythm.When Elliott Stooke was whistled up at a ruck, Searle made it 10-6 with his second penalty. Homer replied from short range after Bristol were caught offside in a ruck in their own 22 but Searle had the last word on the stroke of half-time with his third successful kick when Ross Batty did not roll away quickly enough from the tackle area.A smart break by Williams from the base of the scrum gave Bristol hope but Bath began to crank up the pressure with their ball carriers and Homers third penalty extended the lead to 16-9.Bristol were reduced to 14 men after 64 minutes when centre Jason Woodward fell the wrong side of a ruck on his own line after Faletaus replacement, Zach Mercer, almost made the line.Bath could not make the extra man count, however, and it was Bristol who finished strongest, forcing a line-out in the corner. Agonisingly, Will Hurrell spilt a pass after half-a-dozen phases and they had to be content with a losing bonus point. ' ' '