NLCS Schedule 2014: Giants vs. Cardinals Series Coverage Info and Predictions

For the fifth time in the last five years, the National League champion is guaranteed to be the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals. These two franchises have been the class of the sport for a long time, winning three World Series since 2010. 

Even though the names of the teams might make fans feel like this year's National League Championship Series is merely rehashing something we've already seen, the Giants and Cardinals have undergone drastic changes since their last playoff meeting two years ago. 

The Cardinals made big moves during the season this year, trading Allen Craig and Joe Kelly to acquire John Lackey because their starting rotation was so banged up. Whatever moves this team makes always seem to pay off, just as the Giants are expertly built to succeed in the playoffs when they get in. 

It's an incredible series with so many storylines that every inning is going to be its own little story. We've got a look at all the information you need to be properly prepared for the NLCS as well as our predictions for which team will be playing in the World Series. 

Date	Time (ET)	Network	Park
Game 1: Saturday, October 11	8 p.m.	Fox	Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
Game 2: Sunday, October 12	8 p.m.	Fox Sports 1	Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
Game 3: Tuesday, October 14	4 p.m.	Fox Sports 1	AT&T Park (San Francisco)
Game 4: Wednesday, October 15	8 p.m.	Fox Sports 1	AT&T Park (San Francisco)
Game 5: Thursday, October 16 (If Necessary)	8 p.m.	Fox Sports 1	AT&T Park (San Francisco)
Game 6: Saturday, October 18 (If Necessary)	4 p.m.	Fox	Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
Game 7: Sunday, October 19 (If Necessary)	8 p.m.	Fox Sports 1	Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

Note: Games can also be streamed on MLB TV (requires $24.99 subscription).

Series Prediction

Nothing that the Giants or Cardinals did in their division series wins makes sense, so good luck trying to spin that forward to the NLCS. The Giants scored a total of nine runs in four games against Washington, though you could classify it as five games because Game 2 went 18 innings. 

The Cardinals, who hit 105 homers in the regular season, had seven in four games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and three off Clayton Kershaw. In a classic case of unpredictable baseball, Matthew Pouliot noted that Matt Carpenter had more homers off lefties in the division series than the entire regular season:

Since we know momentum in baseball is a myth, forget everything that we saw over the last week. The Giants and Cardinals are back to square one. Fortunately for them and us, the stars aligned to make Madison Bumgarner and Adam Wainwright available to start Game 1. 

Bumgarner has been brilliant in the playoffs, save for one errant throw, with 16 strikeouts, 10 hits, two walks and two earned runs allowed in 16 innings. Wainwright wasn't impressive in Game 1 against the Dodgers, allowing 11 hits and six runs in 4.1 innings, but has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for years. 

However, there were concerns about whether Wainwright would be able to start a potential Game 5 in the division series because of lingering elbow soreness, via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Neither bullpen has been dominant this year. The Giants had to switch closers midway through the year when Sergio Romo was getting lit up like a Christmas tree. Trevor Rosenthal still brings the heat, but his walk rate more than doubled from 2013 (2.39 to 5.37), per FanGraphs. 

The biggest difference for this series, just like in the American League Championship Series, looks to be in the dugout. Bruce Bochy has been a master in the playoffs at managing his bullpen and building the lineup.

As R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) noted, Bochy's ability to stay out of his own head is a trait that serves him well in October:

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Bochy seems to maximize the contributions from his veterans and does an excellent job juggling his lineup when it is called for. Bochy is hardly a number cruncher, but he also avoids the tendency to over manage in key situations. He seems to have found that impossible balance between pulling the plug on a player too soon and waiting too long for a player to fail. The Romo/Casilla closer decision is a prime example of this, but Bochy’s roster management in general is a definite strength.

"

Mike Matheny isn't a bad manager, but he rarely deviates from a plan. He's got roles for players and will adhere to those with an iron fist. Bochy is more likely to put in his best reliever in the sixth inning to get a big out, while Matheny will go with a lesser guy in that spot because it's the role he wants him in. 

There won't be a lot of runs scored in the series because neither offense is great and the pitching is strong on both sides. Managers make a bigger difference in October than any other time, so the Giants get the slightest edge because of that. 

Prediction: Giants win in seven games

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