Clayton Kershaw has led the MLB in ERA over the past four seasons and had only three losses throughout the entire 2014 regular season. But he hasn't had such success in the postseason, especially against the Cardinals.
Kershaw suffered his second loss of the NLDS on Tuesday night and is now 0-4 against the Cardinals in the postseason over the past two years. The left-hander was also 0-2 against St. Louis in the NLCS in 2013 and gave up seven earned runs in 10 innings pitched. This time around he surrendered 11 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. St. Louis defeated Los Angeles 3-1 in the NLDS in yet another playoff series upset.
The Cardinals will now appear in their fourth consecutive NLCS and face the winner of the NLDS series between the Giants and Nationals. Starting pitcher Shelby Miller was able to deliver a quality start against a talented Los Angeles lineup on Tuesday night, lasting 5 2/3 innings and giving up five hits, three walks and two earned runs. Trevor Rosenthal saved his third game of the series after he retired Juan Uribe, Justin Turner and Carl Crawford in the top of the ninth.
But the hero of the night was Matt Adams. After Kershaw lasted six full innings and only gave up one hit, Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta led off the seventh inning with singles. Next up was Adams, who crushed a three run home run to right center field to give the Cardinals the 3-2 lead and the eventual victory that would propel them into the next round. Immediately after Adams made contact with Kershaw's curveball, he raised his arm in celebration because he knew the ball was gone.
And again, the Dodgers were unable to get the bats going, which was ultimately their undoing. They managed to have 13 base runners throughout the game thanks to eight hits and five walks, but could only score two runs off of a Matt Kemp double play groundout and a Juan Uribe RBI single in the sixth inning. Yasiel Puig was left out of the lineup for Game 4, and now that Los Angeles was defeated and sent packing it's likely Don Mattingly catches criticism for the decision.
Los Angeles was perhaps the victim of bad luck, as the Cardinals were only able to scatter four hits and two walks while striking out 11 times. Adams' three-run homer was the only production of the night.
Nonetheless, the Cardinals will appear in the NLCS for the third time in three years under manager Mike Matheny. Adam Wainwright will start the series first game against either the Giants or Nationals, who are currently playing Game 4 in San Francisco. The Giants lead 2-1 and could end the series tonight.
