The youthful Chicago Cubs are just one win away from the National League Championship Series, but the upstart squad is going to have to get past the most experienced postseason starter in baseball first.
John Lackey, who gets the nod for the St. Louis Cardinals in this must-win clash, has started 19 games in October. As Jayson Stark of ESPN.com notes, that makes Lackey the leader in that department among all active big league starting pitchers.
While St. Louis will be calling on Lackey to pitch on just three days' rest, the Cubs will be trotting out Jason Hammel, who last stepped on the mound Oct. 1.
Here are the biggest keys for each side as the Cards aim to send this series back to Busch Stadium for Game 5 and the Cubs attempt to wrap this set up in front of the home crowd.
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