Ostrowski: Breaking down Cubs-Nationals matchups

Breaking down the matchups heading into the National League division series between the Cubs and the Washington Nationals:

Starting pitching

Kyle Hendricks the ace? Yeah. He has been the Cubs' best starting pitcher for a while and has experience in the most pressure packed moments.

Since coming off the disabled list in July, Hendricks has a 2.19 ERA in 13 starts.

Jon Lester has a 4.33 ERA, nearly 2 full runs higher than last year, and this is arguably his worst season. Jose Quintana might be the Cubs' second-best option, but he will experience playoff baseball for the first time.

Are we sure that Jake Arrieta will be healthy enough to start a potential Game 4?

It would be a huge blow to the Nationals if two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer can't start Game 2. It would give him full rest for a series deciding Game 5 if he can go Saturday.

The trio of Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez make up three of the top five starting pitching ERAs in the National League.

Advantage: Nationals

Relief pitching

Cubs manager Joe Maddon trusts Wade Davis, Mike Montgomery and Carl Edwards Jr. All three have had success on the biggest stage, but they'll need more than these three to make a deep run.

Much of the first half of the season, the baseball world was waiting for Washington to fix its bullpen. General manager Mike Rizzo did that by adding Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Brandon Kintzler in midseason trades.

Advantage: Even

Offense

Both lineups are stacked from top to bottom. The Cubs' offense scored 822 runs with a .338 OBP and .775 OPS. The Nationals put up 819 runs with a .332 OBP and .782 OPS. The defending champs are deeper and give Maddon more flexibility to play matchups, but this is splitting hairs.

Advantage: Even

Defense

The Cubs' fielding was back to an elite level during their 49-25 second half. Jason Heyward, Addison Russell, Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo are among the best defenders at their positions. Nationals infielders Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman are among the worst in the league.

Advantage: Cubs

Manager

Maddon deserved every bit of criticism that he received in the off-season, but he has a championship on his resume. Dusty Baker's teams have been eliminated in the wild card or first round in six of his eight playoff appearances.

Advantage: Cubs

Prediction

October often comes down to starting pitching. Scherzer's health is a question mark, but so is much of the Cubs' rotation. The North Siders might even need John Lackey in a big spot.

Nationals in five

• Catch Joe Ostrowski and Barry Rozner on their "Hit & Run" baseball show each Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to noon on WSCR 670-AM. Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeO670.

• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.