The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers pitted aces Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright against each other in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. As practically no one expected, each pitcher was peppered, as the Cardinals emerged victorious by a score of 10-9.
On Saturday, both teams are back in action, and Zack Greinke and Lance Lynn will attempt to fare better than their counterparts. Although, based on the offensive fireworks that were on display from both teams on Friday, we could be in line for another shootout.
In this best-of-five series, Game 2 is immensely important. A St. Louis win would put a stranglehold on the series, while a Los Angeles win would even things right back up. As we await the action to continue, let's take a look at the impending contest's viewing information, outlook and prediction.
Viewing Information
Series: St. Louis leads, 1-0
When: Saturday, October 4
Time (ET): 9:30 p.m.
Channel: MLBN
Live Stream: MLB.TV
Outlook and Prediction
Well, Game 1 wasn't exactly the pitchers' duel we expected; however, we have two very talented players set to take the mound on Saturday.
Greinke and Lynn both come with their ups and downs. Lynn boasted a 2.54 ERA in the month of September and refusing to allow more than three runs in any contest—he went at least six innings in all six of his starts. On the other hand, Greinke comes in with a nice winning streak on his side after allowing just nine runs last month.
Although, while Greinke appears to have the hotter hand right now, he is still attempting to establish himself in the postseason. Here's a look at his ERA in October, via Bleacher Report's Scott Miller:
Both pitchers faced each other on June 28 this season. Lynn was wildly inconsistent, giving up six runs over just two innings pitched. Greinke was on point, going a full seven innings while allowing just one run.
The forthcoming pitching matchup is about as even as anyone could imagine. The same can be said at the plate. ESPN Stats & Info noted how badly the hitters from both teams teed off on the aces on Friday:
In Game 1, both teams showed a bevy of talent and depth in their lineups, combining for 26 hits and 19 runs. However, the Dodgers were more aggressive earlier in the game, as the team attacked Wainwright in the game's early innings.
The Dodgers saw production from all across the lineup, as Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and A.J. Ellis all got into the action, scoring six times through three innings. Five different players finished with multi-hit games and seven accounted for at least one RBI.
On the other hand, St. Louis saw a frenzy of scores in one inning. The team pummeled the Los Angeles rotation in the seventh inning, earning a total of eight runs in the process. However, Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday combined for seven of the team's RBIs.
While the production from those two sluggers was fantastic, the Cardinals will need to see more consistent output across the rest of the lineup in order to ensure ongoing success in Los Angeles.
For now, the nod goes to the Dodgers on Saturday. Expect Greinke to continue his hot streak while the team's hitters keep up their torrid pace to even the series.
Prediction: Dodgers 6, Cardinals 4
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