The St. Louis Cardinals play the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in Game 5 of their NL championship series. The game starts at 4 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast HERE.
St. Louis can close the championship series out on Wednesday with a win. Despite being so close to advancing, the Cardinals aren't celebrating yet. Under manager Mike Matheny, the club is taking a one-game-at-a-time mentality into Game 5.
"Hopefully, we can throw some offense together like we were (Tuesday) a little bit and keep some positive thoughts going," Martheny told reporters, via ESPN. "When we start talking about where the series is, I think it's a distraction. What we've got to do is play a game."
Scoring runs may prove difficult against Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, who's set to take the mound on Wednesday. Greinke (0-1, 2.57 ERA) is tasked with keeping Los Angeles alive in the postseason by forcing a sixth game.
Greinke has played well against St. Louis. In his last four starts, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA, according to ESPN. He carried that success into Game 1, where he fanned 10 batters while giving up just two runs in eight innings before the Dodgers eventually fell in the 13th inning, 3-2.
Despite his success against the Cardinals, Greinke acknowledged great pitching doesn't always guarantee a win.
"If you make really good pitches it's not much the offense can do," Greinke told reporters, "but they haven't had many like lucky hits so they're probably due for a couple like flairs and groundballs that just no one can get to."
Although facing elimination, the Dodgers are confident they can still win the series.
"We realize we've been through a lot in the regular season, but it pales in comparison to what we're doing now," Dodgers slugger Mark Ellis said. "We realize we have it in us to do this. It's a three-game win streak. That's all it is."
Joe Kelly (0-0, 3.18) can help end the series for St. Louis. In his Game 1 start, Kelly allowed just two runs over six innings.
