NLDS Schedule 2014: Where and When to Watch Each Scintillating Matchup

The National League has a lot to live up to.

The Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics kicked off the postseason with the American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, and it was arguably one of the top games of the entire 2014 season. The Royals then went to Anaheim to take on the Los Angeles Angels, needing 11 innings to oust Mike Trout's club.

Kansas City has stolen the show in October, but there's still plenty of time for one of the National League's four participants (Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals) to make headlines. The field in the NL is deep. Any of the four teams could feasibly run the gamut and make it to the World Series, but it will ultimately come down to which team gets hot at the right time.

You won't want to miss the moment these teams start firing on all cylinders. Below you'll find a complete schedule for each NLDS matchup.

Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Pitchers
NLDS 1
NLDS 2
10/3	3 p.m.	Giants @ Nationals	Peavy vs. Strasburg
10/4	5:30 p.m.	Giants @ Nationals	Hudson vs. Zimmermann
10/6	TBD	Nationals @ Giants	Fister vs. TBD
10/7	TBD	Nationals @ Giants	TBD vs. TBD
10/9	TBD	Giants @ Nationals	TBD vs. TBD
10/3	6:30 p.m.	Cardinals @ Dodgers	Wainwright vs. Kershaw
10/4	9:30 p.m.	Cardinals @ Dodgers	Lynn vs. Greinke
10/6	TBD	Dodgers @ Cardinals	Ryu vs. Lackey
10/7	TBD	Dodgers @ Cardinals	TBD vs. Miller
10/9	TBD	Cardinals @ Dodgers	TBD vs. TBD

Outlook

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The NLDS pitching matchups on Day 2 of the 2014 MLB playoffs are stellar. Clayton Kershaw squares off against Adam Wainwright, while Stephen Strasburg will go to work against a Giants team attempting to back Jake Peavy.

The matchup between Kershaw and Wainwright is especially interesting. Everyone knows how dominant Kershaw was this season. He won 21 games, had an almost invisible ERA and looked infallible every time he toed the rubber.

Los Angeles was 23-4 with Kershaw on the mound this year. Even when he doesn't earn the win himself, he keeps his team in the game.

That said, all these numbers are no guarantee to trump Kershaw's postseason track record. Shockingly, it isn't very good. Nicholas Pistor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted about the surprising numbers:

Kershaw was also 0-2 with an ERA north of six in last year's National League Championship Series against, guess who? The Cardinals.

The team that wins Game 1 of this series would presumably have a major advantage over the other, but the pitching is so deep for both squads that any game could presumably go either way.

The Nationals and the Giants match up for the other NLDS, with Strasburg and Peavy looking to trade zeros in Game 1. Peavy has been stellar since coming over from the Boston Red Sox, posting a 2.17 ERA in 78.2 innings.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

That said, Peavy tends to fall apart after the fifth inning. His ERA during that frame is 5.17. meaning all the Nationals have to do is put a little pressure on him to make something happen.

In terms of hitting, the Nationals are the far better team. They have a deep lineup made up of guys with speed (Denard Span), guys with power (Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper) and all-around hitters (Anthony Rendon). Ian Desmond, Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman are also good at the plate.

The Giants are led by the trio of Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval. If the Nationals can limit their production, then they'll coast into the next round.

This series figures to be a bit less competitive than the latter, but anything can happen in October.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @KennyDeJohn_BR