The Matchup

CATCHER: Javier Lopez of the Braves has thrown out only 33 of 130 baserunners. But he has hit three critical home runs in his last 38 postseason at-bats, including the game winner in Game 1 against the Dodgers. He batted .343 with four homers against the Cardinals this season. Tom Pagnozzi of the Cardinals is a three-time Gold Glove winner but hit only .143 against the Braves this season. The Braves won’t try to run nearly as much against the Cardinals as they did against the Dodgers.

EDGE: Braves

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FIRST BASE: Fred McGriff of the Braves has five home runs in his last 52 at-bats in postseason and had three home runs and 12 RBIs against the Cardinals this season. John Mabry of the Cardinals is better defensively, but has less power. Mabry hit .304 against the Braves this season, .444 against John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.

EDGE: Braves

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SECOND BASE: Mark Lemke of the Braves continues to look like Joe Morgan in the postseason, hitting a key two-run double against Hideo Nomo in Game 3 on Saturday. He batted only .176 against the Cardinals during the regular season. Luis Alicea, who batted .258 during the season, led all second basemen with 24 errors in 104 games but made only two in his final 31 games.

EDGE: Braves

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SHORTSTOP: The Braves apparently will stick with Jeff Blauser for his defense, though he has a .182 career average against the Cardinals and is hitting .064 against Andy Benes. The Cardinals’ Royce Clayton will get most of he work and is expected to start both games in Atlanta; Ozzie Smith probably will start Game 3 in St. Louis. Clayton is batting .116 against the Braves’ starting trio in his career; Smith is batting .320 with eight doubles in 50 at-bats against Glavine.

EDGE: Cardinals

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THIRD BASE: Chipper Jones became the first Brave to bat at least .300 with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs since Dale Murphy in 1985. He batted .364 in last year’s postseason with five doubles three homers and eight RBIs. Gary Gaetti of the Cardinals, who hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat against the Padres but went hitless in his next 10 at-bats, is nursing a sore right ankle. He hit .275 with one homer and only four RBIs in 40 at-bats against the Braves this season.

EDGE: Braves

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LEFT FIELD: Ryan Klesko led the Braves with 34 homers and 129 strikeouts this season but is almost useless against left-handers. Former Brave Ron Gant of the Cardinals is appearing in his fifth consecutive National League championship series. Klesko batted .400 with the four RBIs in the sweep over the Padres.

EDGE: Cardinals

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CENTER FIELD: Marquis Grissom had one hit in 12 at-bats against the Dodgers but was superb defensively. He hit six of his 23 homers against the Cardinals this season, three in nine at-bats against Todd Stottlemyre. Ray Lankford, who suffered a torn rotator cuff the final week of the season, did not start in the division series but is expected to return tonight. He had 36 doubles, eight triples and 21 homers and is magnificent defensively, but batted only .143 against the Braves this season.

EDGE: Braves

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RIGHT FIELD: Rookie Jermaine Dye of the Braves is a fantastic defensive player, but he struck out six times in 11 at-bats against the Dodgers. There’s no better athlete on either team than Brian Jordan of the Cardinals. He played defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons and is displaying his defensive prowess in the postseason. He batted .684 with the bases loaded and .422 with runners in scoring position during the season.

EDGE: Cardinals

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STARTING PITCHING: John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were 3-0 with an 0.79 ERA against the Dodgers, yielding only 17 baserunners and striking out 21 in 22 2/3 innings. The Cardinals scored eight runs in 6 1/3 innings June 24 off Smoltz, but in the other five starts, the trio posted a 1.16 ERA against the Cardinals. The Braves are expected to use Denny Neagle in Game 4. Andy Benes was 1-1 against the Braves with a 4.94 ERA this season. Todd Stottlemyre was 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA, and Donovan Osborne gave up nine hits and four earned runs in seven innings in his lone start against the Braves. This could be a huge mismatch.

EDGE: Braves

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BULLPEN: The Braves’ bullpen has pitched only 5 1/3 innings in the last nine days, 3 1/2 by Mark Wohlers, who saved all three games against the Dodgers. No active Cardinal has hit a home run against him. Dennis Eckersley, Rick Honeycutt and Tony Fossas combined for 12 2/3 scoreless innings against the Padres, but they can also falter at any given time.

EDGE: Braves

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BENCH: The Brave bench got only three at-bats against the Dodgers. It has speed in Andruw Jones and Luis Polonia, experience in Terry Pendleton, and defense in Eddie Perez and Rafael Belliard. Cardinal pinch-hitters batted .281 this season, second-highest in the league, but hit a league-low one homer. Willie McGee batted .350 as a pinch-hitter with nine RBIs in 40 at-bats.

EDGE: Braves

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INTANGIBLES: The Braves have won 14 of their last 17 playoff games and their confidence is peaking. Their dominant pitching gives no one a chance. The Cardinals celebrated hard after sweeping the Padres, perhaps realizing their season is nearly over. They lost nine of 13 games to the Braves this season. This series could be over in a hurry.

EDGE: Braves

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MANAGERS: Bobby Cox, the only National League manager to lead his team to five consecutive postseason berths, continues to make all of the right moves. He is becoming more aggressive in the postseason. Tony La Russa did a fine job blending all of the new players this season. Yet, he manages frequently by the book and has a history of poor performances in postseason. His heavily favored Oakland Athletics’ team lost in five games to Tom Lasorda and the Dodgers in five games in the 1988 World Series, and his team was swept in four games by Lou Piniella and the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series.

EDGE: Braves

PREDICTION: Braves in five.