The Los Angeles Dodgers are into the National League Championship Series after defeating the Atlanta Braves in the division series and now that they know they are playing the St. Louis Cardinals, the team will have Zack Greinke on schedule to start Game 1 against the Cardinals on the road.
The Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw start in Game 4 against the Atlanta Braves and it turned out to be a good decision to start him on three days' rest, as he came through for the team and won the game. Kershaw had never pitched on that short of rest and it turned out to be a solid decision for Don Mattingly, as the dodgers are now through to the championship series. The team had gotten off to a terrible start this season and now has turned it all around, as they are just one series win away from making it to the World Series.
The team was even close to possibly firing Mattingly, but clearly ownership made the right choice by not doing that, as he has led the team to the championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. The team made a tough choice to start Kershaw in Game 4 on short rest and it ended up working out right and now Kershaw will get the chance to start in Game 2 on regular rest, something that may not have happened if the team had to play a Game 5 matchup.
Greinke and Kershaw have been the top two pitchers for the Dodgers this postseason and rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu now has some pressure taken off, as he will go in Game 3 likely. The Cardinals have strong pitching with Adam Wainwright and others and the Dodgers will be ready to match up with their aces as well. The Dodgers have a tough lineup with Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Carl Crawford and despite not having Matt Kemp, they still should be able to give the Cardinals a challenge.
The Dodgers have yet to finalize their roster for the NLCS, but obviously Kemp will not be on it after he underwent surgery and was ruled out for the postseason. Andre Ethier is a player on the brink, as he has been banged up and only served as a pinch hitter and Mattingly will have to decide how to handle it. Kemp had surgery this week on his shoulder to get it cleaned up and he also is dealing with an ankle injury after missing over 50 games this past season.
Greinke had a very solid season for the Dodgers and he has started one game for the team, going six inning and giving up four hits, two runs and striking out three in his start against the Braves.