Cardinals vs. Dodgers: Game 1 Time, TV Info, Live Stream and More

For the second straight season, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers will meet in the National League playoffs. Last year, it was in the championship series. This year, instead of making us wait, they decided it would be easier to lock horns in the division series. 

An added bonus of having the Cardinals and Dodgers meet in the division series, as opposed to playing another series in the interim, is it allows us to get the Adam Wainwright vs. Clayton Kershaw pitching duel we were deprived of last year. 

Even though Wainwright has been, and remains, one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, Kershaw's dominance this season gives the Dodgers an air over them that we haven't seen since the days when Pedro Martinez was at his peak in Boston. 

Whatever is going to happen when Wainwright and Kershaw toe the rubber, we've got you covered with all the information you need to find it and the key storylines to watch in Friday's Game 1. 

Where: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California

When: Friday, October 3

Start Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox Sports 1

Live Stream: MLB Postseason TV (Requires $4.99 subscription)

Pitcher	GS	IP	ERA	WHIP	K-BB
Adam Wainwright (Cardinals)	32	227	2.38	1.031	179-50
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)	27	198.1	1.77	0.857	239-31

Key Storyline for Cardinals

How do you get runs off Clayton Kershaw?

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Aside from finding out where Jimmy Hoffa is hidden and what the golden light in Marsellus Wallace's briefcase is in Pulp Fiction, there is no greater mystery in America than trying to figure out how to hit and score runs off Kershaw. 

The Dodgers ace has been insanely good in 2014, to the point where a 1.95 ERA in September was his second-worst single month of the season. ESPN's Buster Olney noted on Twitter that everyone on the current Cardinals roster to face Kershaw has combined for one homer:

"

The Cardinals who have faced Clayton Kershaw in the past have combined for one homer in 139 regular-season at-bats. http://t.co/8KjsXSfXTw

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 2, 2014"

One silver lining is the Cardinals have actually done better against left-handed pitching this year (.718 OPS) than right-handed pitching (.679). Despite returning most of their starters from last season and upgrading the shortstop position with Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis' offense took a huge step back in 2014. 

The Cardinals finished 24th in runs scored and 29th in home runs. No one expected them to hit .330 with runners in scoring position again, which was a record set by the team last year, but when it drops all the way down to .254, then runs will be hard to come by. 

Even with Wainwright on the mound, you still have to score a run to win. Pairing a below-average offensive team against the best pitcher on the planet is a recipe that smells really bad for the Cardinals.

St. Louis' best course of action in this game will be to bide time, hope that Kershaw's command isn't on point early, or try to work deep counts even if they lead to strikeouts, and get him out of the game after six or into the seventh inning. 

The Dodgers bullpen was terrible this year, ranking 20th in WHIP, 22nd in ERA and 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Brian Wilson continues to be used in high-leverage spots despite a 4.66 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. Brandon League may have posted a 2.57 ERA, but a 1.46 WHIP suggests he's walking a dangerous tightrope.

Since the Cardinals don't have the ability to play long ball, they must string together a lot of hits to create a big inning. That's not going to happen against Kershaw, so making Don Mattingly use his bullpen is the most logical path to victory. 

Key Storyline for Dodgers

Which version of the Dodgers offense will show up?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Dodgers are a maddening team to watch because everything suggests they should be the best team in baseball. They have the best pitcher, another one who arguably belongs in the top 10-15 (Zack Greinke) and a lineup that features names like Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig. 

However, instead of running laps around the National League West, the Dodgers needed almost 160 games to put away a San Francisco team that went 45-53 in its last 98 games after starting 43-21. There are many reasons why consistency isn't their strong suit (bad bullpen, shoddy defense), but the main culprit is an offense that can go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde in the span of a single game. 

Here's a month-by-month look at the Dodgers' average runs scored per game:

Month	Total Runs	Avg. Runs
March/April	108	4.0
May	139	4.6
June	110	3.9
July	98	4.1
August	107	3.8
September	156	6.3

Look at the lineup Don Mattingly uses, and you won't find any semblance of consistency. Matt Kemp went from looking like an injury-plagued former superstar with a .655 OPS in May to posting a .971 OPS after the All-Star break. Adrian Gonzalez slugged under .400 in May and June, and over .500 in the final two months. 

But no player better personifies the Dodgers than Yasiel Puig, who posted OPS totals over 1.100 in May and July, a .657 mark in June, .544 in August and .808 in September. 

Despite all that, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated did highlight all the positives about Los Angeles' offense, including how it fared down the stretch:

"

The Dodgers' offense was the best in the league in September as Matt Kemp's bat sprung to life — and right on time, as the power disappeared from the bat of Yasiel Puig (five home runs in his last 100 games). They posted the best average in the league with runners in scoring position (.286) and the best OBP from the top two spots in the batting order (.354). This is a team that hits good pitching and is an impressive rally team.

"

Wainwright isn't Kershaw, but he did post the lowest ERA of his career (2.34), and he tied his career low for hits allowed per nine innings (7.3) and second-lowest fielding independent ERA (2.88). He also led the league with 0.4 home runs allowed per nine innings (10 in 227 innings). 

Another bad sign for Dodgers hitters is Wainwright was murder on right-handed hitters this year, with a .542 OPS against, and had a 1.72 ERA in 18 road starts. Neither team is going to score a lot of runs, but this game certainly isn't as lopsided as most games the Dodgers will face with Kershaw starting. 

Trusting the Dodgers offense in a big spot is dangerous, though at least there were signs of life in the final month of the season. That doesn't mean much now, but it's something. 

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