The 2014 NLDS is live on the radio from ESPN as the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 3 of the National League Division Series and the playoffs are tied 1-1 with these two teams as John Lackey matches up with Hyun-Jin Ryu in a crucial game and this one will be from Busch Stadium and starts up on the radio from ESPN at 9 pm ET.

The pitching matchup is a quality one and while it doesn't have the names like Kershaw, Wainwright to Greinke, John Lackey is capable of pitching a great game and he comes in after being acquired this season by the Cardinals. Other moves like David Price and Jon Lester for the Tigers and the A's did not work out as expected and now those teams are home for the playoffs. Lackey has been in the playoffs many times before and he will try and steady the Cardinals to another NLCS appearance.

The Cardinals come in after making it to the World Series last season and they have a tough battle now with the Dodgers coming into St. Louis. The Cardinals are experienced and have been in this situation before, but the Dodgers are playing very well and they have the offense along with the pitching to be a deadly team in October. The Dodgers have not yet been able to put it together to get into the WS and they are looking to get back to Kershaw in this series and the Cards will be happy to toss Wainwright after both pitchers were rocked in Game 1. The second matchup was closer and that was decided by a Matt Kemp home run and now the two teams will be looking for the crucial Game 3 win.

The winner of Game 3 gets a much better advantage at winning the series in a five game set and that makes this matchup all the more important. The Cardinals already saw their Midwest neighbors the Kansas City Royals make it into the CS series in the AL and now they have the chance to take a 2-1 advantage to get closer to advancing. Matt Carpenter has been swinging a hot bat and it comes as the Cardinals had a tough time scoring runs earlier this season.

The team is now once again farther into the playoffs than Albert Pujols with the Angels and while that is not the measuring stick for the team, it has happened every year since he left. The Cardinals are hoping for some more hometown magic and they will try and get this win against Ryu with their own trade deadline acquisition with Lackey taking the ball to start the game.

Check here for the 2014 NLDS live coverage with the Cardinals and Dodgers.