WASHINGTON -- David Freese knows a little bit about what experience gets you in the postseason, so it was worth asking his thoughts about the Dodgers¡¯ other 36-year-old, Russell Martin, having a big night in Sunday¡¯s Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

¡°Russ has been in, what, 26 postseasons?¡± Freese cracked.

Not quite. Martin is playing in his 10th postseason. His latest October began with two hits, two runs scored and four RBIs in the Dodgers¡¯ 10-4 win over the Nationals, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Martin has played in October for the Dodgers, the Yankees, the Pirates, the Blue Jays and now the Dodgers again.

When he made his postseason debut as a 23-year-old for the Dodgers in 2006, Gavin Lux was a month away from his ninth birthday. Lux started at second base for the Dodgers on Sunday.

¡°I'm definitely calmer now,¡± Martin said. ¡°I've always been an intense baseball player and just a person in general, but I think now I just know how to take a deep breath. I had a lot of yoga classes in between those games and now.¡±

Martin started Game 3 over rookie catcher Will Smith because the numbers say Martin is a perfect pairing for Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who turned in five innings of two-run ball. It was in the sixth inning that Martin started producing with the bat. His two-run double gave the Dodgers the lead in what became a seven-run scoring outburst.

Three innings later, Martin added a two-run homer, the sixth of his career in the postseason.

¡°What he's done for our entire group, namely the young catchers, just the entire group of ballplayers -- his insight, his experience, and now you talk about when he does get an opportunity to play,¡± Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ¡°He's got some big hits for us this year, none bigger than the one tonight [for the lead]. But a lot of that is experience. Just for him to be an extension of me, the coaching staff and the other veterans is a big reason why we are here.¡±

Martin began the year as the backup to primary catcher Austin Barnes and, when Barnes didn¡¯t pan out, served as the backup to Smith. Most of his work came in a battery with Ryu, who logged a 1.52 ERA in 20 games with Martin as his catcher.

What Martin did with the bat Sunday night was something of a bonus.

¡°Any time you're in the postseason it's great,¡± Martin said. ¡°The energy, everything is magnified.¡±

Freese knows the feeling. And he contributed with the bat on Sunday himself, coming off the bench to log three hits, including a single in the game-breaking rally. The last player to collect three hits off the bench in the postseason was catcher Johnny Blanchard of the 1960 Yankees in Game 6 of the World Series.

¡°It¡¯s just having composure,¡± Freese said. ¡°Keeping things simple. Calming yourself at all times. Understanding the crowd is going to be there. And just kind of enjoy it. I like this time of year. During the season, it¡¯s a grind. It¡¯s long and it speeds up on you sometimes. But October is fun -- not to say the regular season isn¡¯t.¡±