Nats' maligned bullpen steps up big against Dodgers

The Washington Nationals bullpen was the butt of jokes for most of the season.

But in Wednesday night’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the bullpen came up big — and the Nationals are advancing to the National League Championship Series for the first time.

Tanner Rainey, who spent part of the year in the minors, Pat Corbin, Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle combined to allow no runs on one hit with five strikeouts and no walks in four innings in Game 5.

Hudson, a Virginia native from Old Dominion University, was acquired by the Nationals in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in late July. He got three outs in the ninth in Game 5 — even though catcher Will Smith nearly ended the game with a…