The Cardinals have the right guy on the mound to change things around in this series as Adam Wainwright was probably their best starting pitcher this season. He started 34 games this year and he was 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He also has pitched very well against the Dodgers this season as he has started 2 games in which he was 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Wainwright will want to be careful with Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin who have both hit well in their careers off him. The Cardinals’ batting order will have to deal with a tough customer in lefty Clayton Kershaw in this game. He pitched in 31 games (30 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he was 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He only gave up 119 hits in 171 innings this season while whiffing 185 batters which shows how nasty his stuff is. But, if the Cardinals are patient they should be able to have a lot of baserunners against him as he walked 91 batters this year. Kershaw started 2 games against the Cardinals this season and he was 0-0 with a 1.54 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Albert Pujols likes batting against Kershaw as he is 4 for 7 (.571 avg, 1.584 OPS) with 2 doubles and a RBI against him in his career. Matt Holliday (4 for 10) and Brendan Ryan (3 for have also been effective against Kershaw. The Cardinals really need this game as they will be in deep trouble if they go down 2-0.

The Cardinals almost looked like they were in shock when the Dodgers busted up Chris Carpenter. Carpenter struggled through 5 innings in which he allowed 9 hits, 4 earned runs and he also walked 4 batters which earned him the loss in this game. The Cardinals did beat up on Dodgers’ starter Randy Wolf who only lasted 3 2/3 innings but they couldn’t solve the bullpen. Skip Schmaker was 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Ryan Ludwick was 2 for 4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI and Mark DeRosa was 3 for 5 with a double and 1 RBI. Besides those three guys the Cards’ offense didn’t do too much. The Cardinals must find a way to keep Rafael Furcal off the bases as he was a major pest for them going 3 for 4 with a run scored, a triple and 1 RBI. The Dodgers are now up 1-0 in this series.

The Cardinals have to feel really confident going into Game #1 of this series as they have Chris Carpenter going against lefty Randy Wolf. Carpenter has started 28 games this season and he was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Carpenter has dominated the Dodgers this season starting 2 games against them in which he was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Randy Wolf had the best season of his career in 2009 as he started 34 games in which he was 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He started 1 game against the Cardinals this season and he was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

Closer Ryan Franklin, Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte and Blake Hawksworth will be getting their first taste of the post season this week and the Cardinals need them all to be ready to handle the challenge. Franklin was outstanding for the Cardinals this season which was his first as the full time closer. He pitched in 62 games for the Cardinals this year and he was 4-3 with 38 saves, a 1.92 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Cardinals will be depending on him a lot in the playoffs so they need him to be sharp. Kyle McClellan has been working as the set-up man for the Cardinals and he will need to also do a solid job. He pitched in 66 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 4-4 with 3 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Veteran lefty Trever Miller had the best season of his major league career in 2009 for the Cardinals. He pitched in 70 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Miller has the most experience of any of the Cardinals’ pitchers in the post season but he has not fared well. He has pitched in 9 games in the post season and he is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Fellow lefty Dennys Reyes has also been busy for the Cardinals this season working in 75 games out of the pen in which he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He also has had problems in the post season working in 2 games in which he is 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Brad Thompson will be one of the long relievers out of the pen for the Cards in the playoffs. He pitched in 32 games (8 starts) for the Cardinals this season and he was 2-6 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Thompson has pitched in 8 games in his post season career and he is 0-1 with a 8.31 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP. Jason Motte started the season as the closer but he lost the job without even recording a save as he melted under the pressure of the job. He pitched in 69 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 4-4 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Rookie Blake Hawksworth is one of the better prospects in the Cardinals’ system and he showed them why in September. He pitched in 30 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Todd Wellemeyer has probably pitched himself off the playoff roster but he will be available in later rounds if the need arises due to injury. He pitched in 28 games (21 starts) for the Cardinals and he was 7-10 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. I look for LaRussa to ride his top three starters hard and pitch them deep into ballgames to protect the bullpen.

The Cardinals have the best starting rotation of any team in the playoffs and that’s by a wide margin. Chris Carpenter will be first in line for the Cardinals. He started 28 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He won the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award this season. Carpenter also pitches well when the games really count as he has started 8 games in his career in the post season and he is 5-1 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Adam Wainwright will be the #2 starter for the Cardinals in the playoffs. He started 34 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP as he is one of the frontrunners for the Cy Young Award in the N.L. along with Carpenter. He was the closer for the Cardinals when they won the World Series a couple of years ago. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in his post season career and he is 1-0 with 4 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Wainwright should be very focused as he has whiffed 15 batters in only 9 2/3 innings in the post season. Joel Pineiro had the best season of his career for the Cardinals in 2009. He started 32 games for the Cardinals in which he was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Pitching Coach Dave Duncan got Pineiro to trust his stuff this season and the result was that he only walked 27 batters in 214 innings. He only has 1 game of experience in the post season out of the bullpen and he is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. John Smoltz will likely be the #4 starter when the Cardinals need one. He started 7 games for the Cardinals this season and he was 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Overall, Smoltz has started 15 games for the Cardinals and Red Sox in which he was 3-8 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The reason the Cardinals should go with Smoltz over Kyle Lohse is because he’s one of the best pitchers in post season history. Smoltz has pitched in 40 games (27 starts) in his post season career and he is 15-4 with 4 saves, a 2.65 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Kyle Lohse will likely work as the long man out of the bullpen in the playoffs. He pitched in 23 games (22 starts) for the Cardinals this season and he was 6-10 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He also has a lot of post season experience working in 6 games (1 start) in which he is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Lohse has also whiffed 15 batters in 13 1/3 innings in the post season showing that his stuff translates well to the bullpen.