Dodgers vs. Cardinals: 3 Key Themes of the Social Chatter from 2014 NLDS Game 4

The St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the National League Championship Series after a 3-2 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night.  

Game 4 was filled with drama and storylines, continuing the theme of the entire National League Division Series.

The following trends were the most talked-about topics in the deciding game. 

1. The Internet felt legitimately sorry for Clayton Kershaw. 

The Dodgers seemed destined to force a winner-take-all Game 5 with their ace on the mound and a two-run lead entering the late innings. Clayton Kershaw was magnificent on three days' rest, striking out nine Cardinals in six innings of work while allowing only one hit. 

Bob Nightengale of USA Today detailed Kershaw's early dominance:

But as the lefty took the hill for the seventh inning, he had little idea he was in store for another postseason nightmare. 

After two consecutive singles to start the inning, Matt Adams unloaded on a hanging curveball to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. In just eight pitches, the NL MVP candidate had gone from cruise control to a long, slow walk to the dugout. 

Twitter genuinely felt for Kershaw, who has dealt with postseason demons throughout his career. 

Kershaw will have to answer questions about his playoff woes for another offseason but maybe unfairly so.

On short rest, the southpaw gave the Dodgers a chance to win the game with a gusty performance. Everyone will remember the Adams homer, but Kershaw was left to take the loss because of the lack of confidence in the LA bullpen.

2. The Dodgers bullpen is more at fault than Kershaw.

As mentioned above, Don Mattingly was toeing a thin line with Kershaw's pitch count on short rest. Although his ace was dealing through six innings, Mattingly was going to have to make a tough decision as Kershaw entered the seventh with 94 pitches. 

New York Yankees pitcher Brandon McCarthy had this to say about expectations from pitchers performing on short rest: 

Kershaw had already exceeded what had been asked of him.

For good reason, Mattingly chose to stick with his star in favor of giving the ball to his shaky bullpen. Even after the crushing home run, Twitter understood Mattingly's decision to stay away from his relief core.

Jon Morosi of Fox Sports and ESPN's Arash Markazi shed some light on the difficult position a questionable bullpen had left the Dodgers in.

For the highest payroll in baseball, the LA front office failed to address the club's biggest weakness, and it ultimately cost them the series. Mattingly was forced to depend on his starters perhaps longer than he would have liked.

Sure, Kershaw gave up the lead in Game 4, but the deeper issue was the bullpen's deficiencies. 

3. Often overlooked in 2014, the Cardinals are still the class of the National League. 

The Cardinals were overlooked for most of this season by many baseball pundits.

For most of the year, the Milwaukee Brewers resided in first place in the NL Central, only to watch as the Cardinals passed them to once again top the division.

Entering the NL playoffs, the Dodgers and the Washington Nationals were viewed as the favorites to represent the senior circuit in the Fall Classic. 

But it will be the Cardinals in the NLCS.

Despite all of the Kershaw/Dodgers hoopla in Game 4, Twitter recognized the greatness of the Redbirds after their clinching victory.

ESPN's Colin Cowherd made this clever remark about the club's consistent success: 

Devan F. of CoverThoseBases.com shared this insane stat regarding St. Louis' NL dominance: 

The Cardinals will move on to face the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. St. Louis had a 3-4 record when facing San Francisco in the regular season. 

Their offense handled the vaunted LA pitching staff in the NLDS, using the long ball after hitting the fewest home runs in the NL during the regular season. The bullpen was also dynamite, while the starting pitching competed at a high level against a deep Dodgers lineup.

Continuing the positive note, Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will start Game 1 of the NLCS with a few extra days rest. Game 1 will be played Saturday night at 8:07 p.m. ET.

We should not be surprised if it's the Redbirds representing the NL in the World Series for the third time in four years.