Game 2 is slated for Saturday afternoon in Washington with rain in the forecast.
Dodgers starter and winner Clayton Kershaw was also hit hard as he allowed three runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts in five innings. He threw 101 pitches before Joe Blanton took over in the sixth.
Closer Kenley Jansen came on with one out in the eighth and gave up a two-out pinch-hit double to Clint Robinson. Jansen struck out pinch-hitter Chris Heisey looking for the third out, and set down the side in the bottom of the ninth for the save after he fanned for the last out in the top of the frame with the bases loaded. Jayson Werth struck out to end the game.
Scherzer took the loss, giving up four runs and five hits in six innings with five strikeouts before he was lifted for pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo in the sixth after tossing 91 pitches. Sammy Solis pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth for Washington, and closer Mark Melancon pitched the ninth.
Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman each had two hits for the Nationals, who lost five of six games to the Dodgers during the regular season. Turner and Yasmani Grandal had two hits apiece for the Dodgers.
Washington’s Trea Turner had a sacrifice fly to drive in fellow rookie Pedro Severino, who had doubled, to cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3 in the fourth.
The Nationals broke through against Kershaw in the third as Rendon had a two-run, two-out single to left to trim the margin to 4-2.
The Dodgers scored three runs in the third to make it 4-0.
Chase Utley had an RBI single and Turner lofted a two-run homer into the Dodgers bullpen in left that barely eluded the jump of right fielder Werth. The hit by Utley scored Andrew Toles, who led off with a single and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Kershaw.
Seager, the likely NL Rookie of the Year, gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead with a solo homer with one out in the first off Scherzer –who gave up 31 homers during the season.
The Nationals loaded the bases in the second on singles by Daniel Murphy and Zimmerman and then Severino reached on an error by second baseman Utley. But with two outs, Scherzer popped out to short to complete an eight-pitch at-bat and end the threat.
Kershaw fanned the side in the first as Turner, Bryce Harper and Werth all went down swinging. The game began at 5:38 p.m. ET but there were no shadows on a cloudy day in the nation’s capital. The wind blew in from right field during the game.
Scherzer did not face Los Angeles during the 2016 regular season. Kershaw was 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA this year after spending time on the disabled list in July and August with a mild herniated disc in his lower back. He entered the game 2-6 with a 4.59 ERA in the postseason.
NOTES: The Nationals starting lineup Friday included several players who had nicks and bruises in the final days of the regular-season: RF Bryce Harper (batting second, thumb), LF Jayson Werth (third, back stiffness) and 2B Daniel Murphy (fourth, strained glute). … Dodgers SS Corey Seager (.308, 26 home runs) and Murphy (.347, 25) were the nominees from their team for the 2016 Hank Aaron Award. … Dodgers LF Andrew Toles (.314), batting eighth, got the start over OF Howie Kendrick after only 115 at-bats in the regular season. Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw admitted he didn’t know Toles was in the system back during spring training. … Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA in the regular season) faces Washington RHP Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83) in Game 2 on Saturday. Hill pitched 25 games in 2015 with Triple-A Syracuse, the top farm club of the Nationals.