The St. Louis Cardinals host the Los Angles Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2013 NLCS. Do not miss any of the action as the Cardinals and Dodgers hook up for what should be a memorable NLCS. Check out the live stream avialable for only $4.99, bringing you coverage all the NLCS games.
It will be offense versus pitching in this series.
There is no question about who provides the pop. Everybody wants to talk about the Cardinals' possessing a great lineup, but that lineup failed to show how potent it could be against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers come into this series with an offense that is locked and loaded. Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig terrorized the base pads, posting on-base percentages of .556 and .500 respectively. Surprisingly, Carl Crawford provided the pop, finishing their division series agains the Atlanta Braves with three huge home runs.
For the Cardinals, pitching carried them through the series. Adam Wainwright allowed two earned runs in 16 innings pitched and Michael Wacka was masterful in his Game 4 start, keeping the Cardinals alive in the playoffs. Wacha went 7.1 innings, allowing one run after receiving only two runs of support.
They say pitching wins in the postseason, but the Dodgers also have an arsenal. They can combat Wainwright with Clayton Kershaw. These two hurlers will likely be the top two candidates in the race for the N.L. Cy Young award, though we know who will win that prize in 2013. Zack Greinke was terrific as the No. 2 starter and Hyun-Jin Ryu held his own in his first season in the majors.
Though the Dodgers have the more impressive characters on offense, guys like Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday cannot be overlooked. Molina and Holliday both have World Series rings and know what it takes to win in the League Championshiop Series. Beltran is a slugger when the calendar turns to October. The man might not have a ring, but he's chasing after the playoff home run record and is currently sitting on 16 career postseason home runs.
Click here for the live stream of Game 1 of the NLCS as the Cardinals and Dodgers faceoff at 8:30 p.m. ET