John Lackey's Postseason Pedigree Paying Big Dividends for Cardinals

Past postseason success doesn't necessarily equal future postseason success. Just ask Jon Lester, who entered his start in the Oakland Athletics' do-or-die wild-card playoff Sept. 30 with a sterling October resume, yet coughed up six earned runs en route to a disheartening A's loss.

Sometimes, though, the equation adds up.

Just ask Lester's old Boston Red Sox teammate, John Lackey, who added another gem to his playoff crown Monday night and carried the St. Louis Cardinals to the brink of the National League Championship Series.

Facing a loaded Los Angeles Dodgers lineup and tasked with untying an NLDS that was knotted 1-1, Lackey delivered. Through seven exemplary innings, the 35-year-old right-hander surrendered just one run on five hits while striking out eight.

The Cardinals plated two runs against the Dodgers bullpen in the bottom of the seventh en route to a 3-1 victory, which earned Lackey his seventh career postseason win.

Overall, Lackey has now appeared in 20 playoff games. His first taste of October baseball came in 2002, his rookie campaign, with the then-Anaheim Angels.

Lackey wound up starting, and winning, Game 7 of the World Series that year against the San Francisco Giants.

Eleven years later, Lackey again found himself tasked with nailing down a Fall Classic, this time as a member of the Red Sox. And he did, tossing 6.2 innings while allowing one run in Game 6 and ultimately getting another ring.

In the process, Lackey became the first pitcher in major league history to win clinching World Series games for two different teams.

It was a moment of redemption for a pitcher the Red Sox signed to a five-year, $82.5 million deal, but who missed the entire 2012 season after undergoing elbow surgery.

Gus Ruelas/Associated Press

This season, at the trade deadline, the team Lackey beat in that '13 World Series went out and got him. On July 31, the Cards sent first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig and starter Joe Kelly to Boston for Lackey. The idea was to bolster the rotation with a playoff-tested arm. 

Not everyone was a fan. Bob Nightengale of USA Today called the deal an "absolute heist" for the Red Sox.

Maybe down the road, it'll look that way. For now, as the Cardinals push toward their third World Series appearance in four years, Lackey looks like a key piece of the puzzle.

Certainly he puzzled the Dodgers' bats on Monday before an appreciative Busch Stadium crowd, which got its first taste of what this man can do when the lights shine brightest. 

Before the game, Lackey mostly dismissed his prior accomplishments. "Things I've done in the past aren't going to help me," he said ahead of Game 3, per Stan McNeal of FoxSports.com. "The only thing that really helps is that kind of outside things like the fly-overs and the ceremonies. I'm prepared for that kind of stuff. But once I get on the mound I'm going to have to pitch well and perform."

"He brought an edge," added manager Mike Matheny. "I think every club when you're making that push you're always wondering what kind of improvements can you make. To bring in another front-line-style pitcher that brings leadership and then goes out and then performs, too. For the most part, was everything we asked."

Scott Kane/Associated Press

Now, up 2-1 in the best-of-five series with another game at home, St. Louis appears well-positioned to charge on to the next round.

And maybe the one after that. We're getting ahead of ourselves, of course. This series isn't over, and the Cardinals certainly haven't punched their World Series ticket. 

If they do, they'll be glad to have a guy who's been there and won that, twice. The past isn't the future. But it can certainly help point the way.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless otherwise noted.