The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals meet in Game 1 of the NLDS at 8:30 p.m. ET. Listen to the free online radio stream of the Dodgers and Cardinals as they battle for the N.L. crown and a chance to play in the 2013 World Series.
The Dodgers will send Zack Greinke to the mound. One of Greinke's lowlights of 2013 was his brawl against San Diego Padres' outfielder, Carlos Quentin. It seems like the brawl never took place and that Greinke is fully recovered from the injury. He pitched well down the stretch, though missing a month of baseball. Greinke finished 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA, his lowest since his Cy Young Award-winning season in 2009.
Greinke took the loss in his first playoff start as a Dodger, as the Atlanta Braves managed two-earned runs against the righty in Game 2 of the ALDs. He pitched six innings, giving up six hits, no walks while picking up three strikeouts. He did not appear to have his best stuff that evening and surely, he will have to give the Dodgers a similar effort in Game 1 of the NLDS.
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The Dodgers face 25-year-old Joe Kelly, who made his first career start in the postseason against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and was a bit out of control, walking four hitters while picking up five strikeouts.
Though Kelly did not win that game, he did a great job holding a Pirates' offense that had scored seven runs in Game 2. He proved usefull in his first ever playoff game, but he will have to do a better job of locating the ball as the Dodgers' hitters are coming into this series red hot. If Kelly's stuff is off, then the best thing the Cardinals can hope for is that the Dodger bats cooled off after a four-day rest.
Greinke has made one start against the Cardinals in the regular season. He went 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits, while walking one and striking out four. Kelly was fortunate to face the Dodgers once they were already winning and he defeated L.A., 5-1, after pitching 5.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and walking two. He also made a relief appearance, pitching three innings and allowing two earned runs, though he struck out six Dodgers.