NLCS Schedule 2014: Info, Preview for Remainder of Giants vs. Cardinals Series

For the fifth year in a row, either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals will represent the National League in the World Series.

The two sides have traded off Fall Classic appearances, with the Giants taking the even years and the Cardinals pouncing on the odd ones. This also makes their third National League Championship Series showdown in 12 years, with the Giants besting the Birds in 2002 and 2012.

They're three wins away from repeating that result after receiving a gem from Madison Bumgarner in Game 1. The ace hurled a scoreless gem to lead the Giants to a 3-0 victory over Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals.

Sure, we could just say it's an even year and pack up, but things are never that simple. Then again, although it has nothing to do with the coincidental trend, the Giants are looking poised to make their third trip to the World Series in five years.

Game	Date	Away	Home	Time (ET)	TV
2	Sun., Oct. 12	San Francisco Giants	St. Louis Cardinals	8:00 p.m.	FOX
3	Tue., Oct. 14	St. Louis Cardinals	San Francisco Giants	4:00 p.m.	FOX
4	Wed., Oct. 15	St. Louis Cardinals	San Francisco Giants	8:00 p.m.	FOX
5*	Thur., Oct. 16	St. Louis Cardinals	San Francisco Giants	8:00 p.m.	FOX
6*	Sat., Oct. 18	San Francisco Giants	St. Louis Cardinals	4:00 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
7*	Sun., Oct. 19	San Francisco Giants	St. Louis Cardinals	7:30 p.m.	FOX

NLCS Breakdown 

With these sides constantly appearing deep in the playoffs, it's no surprise that these guys boast an inordinate amount of postseason experience.

Per ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, 38 of the 50 players had played in the playoffs before this October. That includes 14 of 16 projected starting position players and all eight likely starting pitchers.

"I know I haven't seen a series like this," Buster Posey told Stark before Friday's Game 1. "I definitely haven't. I'm sure you'd be able to have a better answer for me, on whether there's ever been an LCS like this."

Solely valuing a player on past experience can also create messy decisions. That nugget about all eight starting pitchers holding previous experience predicts Ryan Vogelsong as San Francisco's Game 4 starter. Yet the team's fourth, heck, maybe even the second-best starter is Yusmeiro Petit.

The 29-year-old posted a 3.69 ERA this season, but look deeper. He registered 133 strikeouts to 22 walks, and his 2.78 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) tops Bumgarner's 3.05 clip.

Player	IP	ERA	K/9	BB/9	FIP
Madison Bumgarner	217.1	2.98	9.07	1.78	3.05
Tim Hudson	189.1	3.57	5.70	1.62	3.54
Jake Peavy (only w/ SF)	78.2	2.17	6.64	1.94	3.03
Ryan Vogelsong	184.2	4.00	7.36	2.83	3.85
Yusmeiro Petit	117	3.69	10.23	1.69	2.78

He allowed one hit during six magnificent innings during the Giants' 18-inning marathon win over the Washington Nationals. So he basically performed as a starter in the bullpen, but Bruce Bochy won't capitalize on Petit's merit again unless another six-hour game develops.

But that's just picking hairs, as San Francisco's pitching staff is dealing on all fronts. Through six games, the pitchers have allowed nine runs with a .154 opposing batting average. Including his latest postseason start, Jake Peavy is wielding a 2.03 ERA since getting traded from the Boston Red Sox. 

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are brandishing a .274 on-base percentage this season. They somehow found a way to hit two timely home runs off of Clayton Kershaw, but that masked a flawed offense whose .369 team slugging percentage ranked 23rd during the 2014 season.

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Can anyone explain why Randal Grichuk is batting second? It sure doesn't seem like an ideal spot for someone entering the postseason with a .278 on-base percentage and 4.3 percent walk rate. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny may reply that the young outfielder hit .318 after the All-Star break, but allow SB Nation's Craig Edwards to dispel the notion of his hot hand.

Grichuk is just one of many slumping Cardinals at the plate, but he also bears the least semblance of a track record, and now isn't the time to experiment on a fringe prospect who hit well for a few weeks.

The Giants are also suffering a playoff power outage with a .291 slugging percentage, but they're not a bad offense when judging the big picture. When looking at the 162-game sample size instead of the past six, they're No. 10 with a 101 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), a measure of offensive value that mitigates park factors.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

This means they harness an above-average offense, with 100 being the measuring stick. All eight starters hold a mark of 102 or above. Make it nine when Bumgarner starts. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are No. 16 with a 95 wRC+. 

Anything can happen in the MLB postseason, but the Giants are the better team on paper. Then again, the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are better than both these squads, and look where that got them.

Note: All advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs.