National League Division Series
Game 3 - Series tied 1-1
First pitch: Monday, 9:05 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -110, St. Louis +100, Total: 7.5

The NLDS between the Dodgers and Cardinals heads to Busch Stadium on Monday with the series all knotted up at one game apiece after two one-run contests.

The Dodgers should have a decisive 2-0 series advantage heading to Missouri, but a barrage of hits in Game 1 off starter Clayton Kershaw turned the contest around and gave the Cardinals a 10-9 victory. Los Angeles was able to battle back in the next game, winning by a score of 3-2 as Zack Greinke held the opposition in check with seven shutout innings of two-hit ball and OF Matt Kemp hit the game-winning homer in the bottom of the eighth frame. He has turned it on at the right time, hitting .322 with seven doubles, 9 HR and 25 RBI in September (26 games) and is now 5-for-9 in this series. St. Louis played well enough to earn a win on in Saturday's Game 2 with 11 Dodgers striking out, with 8 K's coming from Lance Lynn (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER). The Cardinals' biggest problem was hitting in clutch situations, as they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and earned their only two runs with 2B Matt Carpenter's two-run homer in the eighth. Carpenter had a meager eight homers in the regular season, but already has two in this series, as he is 4-for-8 with two doubles and six RBI over the first part of this NLDS. Getting his third career postseason start in this game will be LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-7, 3.38 ERA) as he goes against a seasoned playoff veteran in RHP John Lackey (14-10, 3.82 ERA). The road is actually where L.A. felt more comfortable this year, as the club went a majors-best 49-32 (.605) away from home, but St. Louis had the MLB's top home record at 51-30 (.630) at Busch Stadium. These two clubs have always played a tight series with the Dodgers holding a slight 17-16 edge overall while the Cardinals are an impressive 9-5 at home in that time. Some trends to keep an eye on heading into Monday include that the Dodgers are 10-2 with Ryu pitching against NL Central opponents over the past two years, while the Cardinals are 101-61 (.623) after scoring two runs or less in the past three seasons. Even after the long 162-game marathon, both of these teams come into this contest with no significant injuries to their offense.

Hyun-Jin Ryu was hampered over the regular season by injuries as he made just 26 starts, but was quite effective in that time, with a sub-3.40 ERA for the second consecutive year while raising his strikeout rate a full whiff per inning to 8.2 K/9. He also improved his control (1.7 BB/9) and allowed a mere eight long balls in his 152 innings on the mound (0.47 HR/9). This will be Ryu’s first outing since Sept. 12, and in that game he was on the mound just one inning as he allowed four runs on five hits in a loss against the Giants. In his rookie campaign, Ryu made two postseason starts as he gave up four runs on six hits over three frames in the NLDS, but followed that dud with a great performance in the NLCS against these Cardinals (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K's). In his career against the Redbirds, Ryu is 2-1 with a stellar 1.29 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, while getting his one loss against them in his start this year (7 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 7 K's). C Yadier Molina (1-for-3, 1 HR) and hot-hitting 2B Matt Carpenter (2-for-7) have done well in limited at-bats in this matchup while 1B Matt Adams and OF Jon Jay are a combined 2-for-10 with three strikeouts against the lefty. The bullpen for L.A. is 19-24 (.442) with a 3.84 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, while being 48-for-61 (79%) in save opportunities. Closer Kenley Jansen (2.76 ERA, 44 saves) struck out 13.9 batters per nine innings over the regular season while dealing with some bad luck (.350 BABIP) and earned a save in Saturday’s victory.

John Lackey was traded midseason from the struggling Red Sox to a contender, but did not perform well after his move to the National League. Over 10 starts, Lackey went 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, while allowing nine home runs in just 60.2 innings (1.34 HR/9) with his new club. He showed great control throughout the season though, walking 2.1 batters per nine as he earned double-digit wins for the 11th consecutive season. Over his playoff career, Lackey is 6-5 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, as he has allowed just 4 HR in his 104 innings. He is 5-3 (6-4 team record) with a tremendous 1.96 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, while he has faced the Dodgers once since 2009, pitching very well on Aug. 23, 2013 (8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's). OF Carl Crawford (23-for-48, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 9 RBI) has the most experience and success against the veteran Lackey, while OF Matt Kemp is a woeful 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts when facing him. The relievers for St. Louis have combined to go 27-24 (.529) this season with a 3.67 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, and are 56-for-73 (77%) in save chances. Closer Trevor Rosenthal (3.20 ERA, 42 saves) had a very high 5.4 walk rate in the regular season and earned a save in the first game of this series while allowing a run on two hits.

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