The St. Louis Cardinals will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday to begin the second NLDS series. Two of the MLB's best pitchers - Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright - will square off tonight at 6:37 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles comes into the series boasting the sixth-best ERA in baseball (3.40) as well as the sixth-highest run total (718 runs scored) for the 2014 regular season. Manager Don Mattingly announced that Clayton Kershaw (1.77 ERA) and Zack Greinke (2.71 ERA) will be starting the first two games of the series, and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times speculates that the team could also use the two pitchers in Games 4 and 5. Hyun-Jin Ryu is cleared to start Game 3 after dealing with a sore left shoulder.
The Dodgers fell to the Cardinals in the NLCS last season in six games and look for revenge this time around. Los Angeles scored a total of only 13 runs in that series, which is very uncharacteristic for the talented lineup they wield. Clayton Kershaw also lost two of his starts in that series, and the MLB's best pitcher likely won't have that happen again. Cardinals' pitcher Michael Wacha completely shut down Los Angeles as well (two starts, 13.2 IP, 0 ER, 13 strikeouts), but he'll be in the bullpen for this series because a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder has slowed his progress to return as a starter.
But Adam Wainwright will still be there for St. Louis. The right-hander was second in baseball (only behind Kershaw) in wins (20) and was fifth in ERA (2.38). In 18 postseason appearances (nine starts), Wainwright has compiled a 4-3 record with a 2.53 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He faced the Dodgers last year in the NLCS, but was handed a loss after giving up six hits and two runs in seven innings of work. He should provide for a great matchup against Kershaw later this evening.
Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny announced on Wednesday that Lance Lynn and John Lackey will be starting Games 2 and 3. Lynn also had a successful NLCS against the Dodgers last season, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. Lackey had a tremendous postseason campaign with the World Champion Red Sox last season, during which he appeared in five games (four stars) and compiled a 3-1 record with a 2.77 ERA. But the Dodgers have much more continuity than last year, so their lineup is going to be a challenge for these experienced pitchers.
Tonight's game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 following the matchup between the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants at 3:07 p.m. Check out the full 2014 MLB Postseason schedule here.
