The St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of the NLDS. If you can't watch the game on television, check out the live stream available for a very low price as the MLB Postseason officially takes off Thursday evening.
Baseball's fourth best hitting team sees the league's ninth worst hitting team in terms of average. The Cardinals finished with the second highest team batting average in the National League after hitting .269. The Pirates depended mostly on home runs, hitting 161, 36 more than the Cardinals, good enough for 13th in baseball, tying the Washington Nationals.
However, with Adam Wainwright on the mound, the Pirates will have to string a few runs together. He surrendered three home runs in three starts to the Pirates during the regular season. Wainwright faced 956 hitters in 2013 and on gave up 15 home runs in 34 stats. That's about a home run every two starts.
If the Cardinals want to win this series, they will not hit home runs, because that has not been a part of their game plan in 2013. As a team, the Cardinals hit 125 four-baggers, the fourth worst in baseball. Their ability to hit the ball keeps the opposition on their toes. They put the ball in play, forcing teams to turn outs rather than striking out at the plate.
A.J. Burnett has not allowed a home run to the Cardinals in six starts this season, but he has lost to them in 2013. He is 3-1 against the Cardinals this season, which is not bad at all. He helps his defense by striking out guys, retiring 37 of 138 Cardinals faced via the strikeout.
Dating back to the regular season, the Cardinals have won the team's last four straight meetings and four of their last six. The teams last met over the weekend from Sept. 6-8. The Cardinals scored 26 runs, holding the Pirates to a total of 10 runs in the three-game series. However, the Pirates own the 10-9 season series lead.
The teams have exchanged blows, but this series will settle the score, answering who truly was the best team in the N.L. Central in 2013. The Pirates already made sure the Cincinnati Reds were nowhere in the conversation. Can they make the Cardinals irrelevant beyond the NLDS?
Click here for the online live stream of the Pirates vs. Cardinals.