NL Championship Series matchup: Dodgers vs. Cardinals

Projected lineups

P; DODGERS Avg.; HR; RBIs; Comment; P; CARDINALS; Avg.; HR; RBI; Comment

LF; Carl Crawford; .283; 6; 31; Three playoff homers matches total from last 92 regular-season games; 2B; Matt Carpenter; .318; 11; 78; most valuable player candidate went one for 19 against Pirates.

2B; Mark Ellis; .270; 6; 48; Scored four runs in four NLDS games; RF; Carlos Beltran; .296; 24; 84; All-time leader in postseason slugging percentage (.761).

SS; Hanley Ramirez; .345; 20; 57; Hit .500 in NLDS with six extra-base hits, six RBIs; LF; Matt Holliday; .300; 22; 94; Won Game 4 of NLDS with a two-run homer.

1B; Adrian Gonzalez; .293; 22; 100; Hit safely in all four NLDS games; 1B; Matt Adams; .284; 17; 51; Playing in place of Allen Craig, hit .326 in September.

RF; Yasiel Puig; .319; 19; 42; Batted .471 with five runs in division series; C; Yadier Molina; .319; 12; 80; Had career highs in batting (.319), RBIs (80) during regular season.

3B; Juan Uribe; .278; 12; 50; Homered on consecutive days for only time this year in NLDS; CF; John Jay; .276; 7; 67; Led team with five runs in NLDS despite hitting .188.

CF; Skip Schumaker; .263; 2; 30; Only starter without an extra-base hit vs. Braves; 3B; David Freese; .262; 9; 60; Of three NLDS hits, one broke open Game 1 and second won Game 5.

C; A.J. Ellis; .238; 10; 52; Hitting 95 points higher in postseason than regular season; SS; Pete Kozma; .217; 1; 35; Had team-high .400 batting average in NLDS.

P; Zack Greinke; .328; 0; 4; Led all major starters in batting average and on-base percentage; P; Joe Kelly; .152; 0; 2; Second on staff with four runs scored in regular season.

The Dodgers scored three or fewer runs in more than half their regular-season games, then exploded in their National League division series against the Braves, averaging 6 1/2 runs. The Dodgers batted .333 with a .572 slugging percentage as a team, led by Ramirez (.500, six extra-base hits) and Crawford (three homers, six runs). The Cardinals have gone the other way, with more strikeouts (31) than hits (21) in the postseason. Three starters — Freese (.188), Jay (.188) and Carpenter (.053) — are hitting below .200. The Cardinals hit .330 with runners in scoring position during the summer but are batting just .185 in the fall.

Advantage: Dodgers.

Starting pitchers

DODGERS; W-L; ERA; Comment; CARDINALS; W-L; ERA; Comment

Zack Greinke; 15-4; 2.63; Only Dodger to lose in postseason despite quality start; Joe Kelly; 10-5; 2.69; Averaged less than 5 2/3 innings per start.

Clayton Kershaw; 16-9; 1.83; Gave up one run in 13 innings vs. Braves; Michael Wacha; 4-1; 2.78; Rookie has come within five outs of a no-hitter in each of last two starts.

Hyun-Jin Ryu; 14-8; 3.00; Three-inning playoff outing was his shortest of season; Adam Wainwright; 19-9; 2.94; Beat Pirates twice in NLDS, including complete game in clincher.

Ricky Nolasco; 13-11; 3.70; Skipped in NLDS after going 0-2, 12.75 ERA last three starts; Lance Lynn; 15-10, 3.97; Lasted just 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs in loss to Pirates.

Dodgers starters led the majors with a 3.13 earned-run average during the regular season and were even more dominant in the NLDS, posting a 2.86 ERA against Atlanta and holding Braves hitters to .193 average and less than a baserunner an inning. Much of the heavy lifting was done by left-hander Kershaw and right-hander Greinke, each of whom figures to pitch twice in this series. If the Dodgers need a fourth starter, they may follow left-handers Kershaw and Ryu with Chris Capuano since St. Louis batted .238 against left-handers and .280 against right-handers. One more stat of note: Kershaw is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in his last three starts against the Cardinals, and he hasn’t won in St. Louis since August 2011.

Advantage: Dodgers.

Bullpen

Player; W-L-SV; ERA; Comment; Player; W-L-SV; ERA; Comment

Kenley Jansen; 4-3-28; 1.88; Struck out seven in NLDS and has total of 118 strikeouts in 79 innings; Trevor Rosenthal; 2-4-3; 2.63; Posted saves in all four chances since taking over as closer.

Ronald Belisario; 5-7-1; 3.97; Allowed baserunners in two of three NLDS appearances; Carlos Martinez; 2-1-1, 1.52; 5.08; Led relievers with three NLDS appearances, giving up two runs.

Paco Rodriguez; 3-4-2; 2.32; Gave up four hits, two walks and two runs while getting two outs; Kevin Siegrist; 3-1-0; 0.45; One of two Cardinals bullpen left-handers who gave up two earned runs in 47 games.

Brian Wilson; 2-1-0; 0.66; Has 12 consecutive scoreless appearances in postseason; Seth Maness; 5-2-1; 2.32; Gave up more hits (66) than had innings pitched (63 1/3 ).

Chris Withrow; 3-0-1; 2.60; Allowed two runs in Game 2 NLDS loss; John Axford; 7-7-0; 4.02; Late-season addition had two hitless appearances against Pirates.

J.P. Howell; 4-1-0; 2.03; Retired six of seven left-handed hitters he faced in NLDS; Edward Mujica; 2-1-37; 3.45; Lost closer job with less than two weeks left in regular season.

Chris Capuano; 4-7; 4.26; Saved team with three hitless innings in relief in Game 3; Shelby Miller; 15-9-0; 3.06; Only relief appearance of year came in NLDS; Randy Choate; 2-1-0; 2.29; Veteran left-hander is used almost exclusively against left-handed hitters.

Five of the Cardinals’ eight relievers are rookies, including new closer Rosenthal and starter Miller, who made his only appearance of the division series in relief. Of the three veterans, two — Axford, who came over from Milwaukee in August, and former Dodger Choate — are in their first year with the team. The Cardinals bullpen fared well against the Pirates, with a 2.45 ERA and a .194 batting average against. But overall Pittsburgh hit just .201 in the series, so the St. Louis starters were better. The Dodgers bullpen has also been a work in progress, with Jansen emerging as a dominant closer since midseason and veteran Wilson becoming equally dominant in the setup role in September. But Dodgers starters will have to pitch deep into games in order to avoid the team’s sometimes unpredictable middle relievers.

Advantage: Dodgers.

Reserves

OF; Andre Ethier; .272; 12; 52; Could play defense in NLCS after pinch-hitting four times vs. Braves; INF; Daniel Descalso; .238; 5; 43; Lost starting job to Kozma after two NLDS games.

INF; Michael Young; .279; 8; 46; Leads Dodgers with 144 postseason at-bats; INF; Kolten Wong; .153; 0-0; Backup infielder had two pinch-hit at-bats vs. Pittsburgh.

INF; Nick Punto; .255; 2; 21; Has yet to get an at-bat this postseason; OF; Shane Robinson; .250; 2; 16; 36 of 100 appearances came as pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.

C; Tim Federowicz; .231; 4; 16; Didn’t get off the bench vs. Braves; C; Tony Cruz; .203; 1; 13; Backup catcher did not play in the division series.

OF; Scott Van Slyke; .240; 7; 19; Ran for hobbled Ethier in only NLDS appearance; OF; Adron Chambers; .154; 0; 1; Left-handed hitter is playing in third postseason.

INF; Dee Gordon; .234; 1-6; Thrown out trying to steal as a pinch-runner.

Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny rarely goes to his bench, and with good reason. With Adams now in the lineup in place of the injured Craig, the Cardinals don’t have much on the bench for him to go to. The Dodgers’ Don Mattingly, on the other hand, is fond of double switches, making a deep and versatile bench a necessity. If Ethier is able to play in the field, returning valuable utility man Schumaker to the dugout, the Dodgers bench will get even deeper. Young and Punto can also play multiple positions for Mattingly, and Van Slyke offers power as a pinch-hitter.

Advantage: Dodgers.

The pick

The Dodgers and Cardinals both have dominant rotations and bullpens that are steady at the back but shaky in the middle. Offensively, the Cardinals were far more dangerous in the regular season, but the Dodgers came alive in their NLDS win over the Braves, so call that a push as well. The one area in which the Dodgers have a sizable edge is on the bench, and if these games are as close as expected that extra depth and versatility could make a difference. Dodgers in six.