After besting the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card Game 4-0 behind a four-hit shutout from ace Jake Arrieta, the Chicago Cubs are set to take on the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series.
Game 1 will take place Friday night at 6:30 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, with former Boston Red Sox teammates John Lackey and Jon Lester squaring off and looking to set the tone for the rest of the best-of-five series.
It's the first time the rivals have ever faced off in a postseason series, and the 97-win Cubs and 100-win Cardinals now boast the two best records of any of the eight remaining playoff teams.
The Cardinals won the season series 11-8, but the Cubs took two of three in each of the final two matchups of the year on their way to an MLB-best 22-8 record over the final 30 games.
So ahead of the opening game of what promises to be an exciting series, let's take a look at three keys to victory for each team in Game 1 of the NLDS.
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