Los Angeles now stands just one victory away from its fourth straight appearance in the National League Conference Series - and its seventh in 11 years.
But the Dodgers were initially lukewarm as they started Sunday's game at Washington, struggling through five innings and entering the sixth down 2-1.
Cody Bellinger singled and then Corey Seager and A.J. Pollock struck out.
And then the magic happened.
A frenzy of hits plus two walks culminated in a three-run homer by Justin Turner.
And suddenly the Dodgers again looked like the powerhouse they had been during the regular season, when they recorded a franchise-high 106 wins.
The sixth inning ended with the Dodgers up 8-4. While that was enough for the win, a two-run homer by Russell Martin in the ninth made it 10-4 and TV cameras caught Washington fans streaming out of the ballpark before the Nationals returned for their final at-bat.
Starter Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched five innings, allowing four hits and two runs, with a 3.6 ERA. The bullpen allowed just two more runs to maintain the win.
The victory brought the Dodgers to 2-1 in the best-of-five National League Division Series.
Game 4 is Monday afternoon at Nationals Park. If a Game 5 is needed, the series will conclude at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.