MLB Playoffs 2014: Day 13 Schedule and Updated NLCS Predictions

The San Francisco Giants remained red hot on Wednesday, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 and taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series. Day 13 of the postseason is extremely pivotal, as we could see this series head back to St. Louis or the Giants move on to face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.

Before the postseason, the Giants bullpen received plenty of press; however, it was not for its efficiency. Well, that's changed in a big way in October, and Wednesday was just another example. Starter Ryan Vogelsong got pelted early, but Yusmeiro Petit and others came through in the clutch, pitching six consecutive scoreless innings.

Shelby Miller had a rough outing for the Cardinals, but the team's bullpen couldn't dispose of the Giants hitters in an efficient manner, allowing five hits and three earned runs over the next 4.1 innings.

Will the Cardinals be able to turn things around in a do-or-die contest on Thursday, or will the Giants keep soaring right on into the World Series? Before we predict the outcome of Game 5, let's first take a look at the MLB playoffs Day 13 schedule.

Viewing Information

Series: Giants lead 3-1

Where: AT&T Park in San Francisco, California

Date: Thursday, October 16

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Channel: Fox Sports 1

Live Stream: MLB.TV (requires subscription)

NLCS Prediction

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Both of these teams came into the NLCS with a great amount of playoff experience and success. Each reaffirmed on Wednesday why they have been successful in the past, but the Giants put together a better team performance.

While St. Louis continues to be the more powerful team at the plate, San Francisco has been more efficient. During Game 4, the Giants did well with runners in scoring position and continued to manufacture runs while their bullpen shut down the Cardinals offense.

St. Louis will get one more chance to force this series back east, and the pressure will be on the arm of starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.

Wainwright hasn't been very good in the postseason, and Game 1 of the NLCS was a testament to that. He couldn't find his control, and that resulted in allowing six hits and three runs over 4.2 innings for a 3.86 ERA.

There's concern over how healthy Wainwright is heading into Game 5 after he was dealing with an elbow issue earlier in the playoffs. However, according to the Cardinals' official Twitter account, all signs indicate he's feeling good:

Still, it's not exactly easy to feel completely comfortable in Wainwright's ability to get it done in the postseason—especially when he'll be facing off against the surging Madison Bumgarner.

When these two pitchers met in Game 1, Bumgarner was electric. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and zero runs while striking out seven batters. ESPN Stats & Info reminded everyone just how good the southpaw has been in October:

San Francisco is simply firing on all cylinders right now. The team is efficient at the plate, solid on defense, sound in the bullpen and continues to ride a huge amount of momentum and confidence in front of its home crowd. Adding an advantage on the mound on Thursday certainly appears to favor the Giants in every aspect of the game.

The Cardinals are a very good baseball team, but they are just up against too much to earn another win and force this series back to St. Louis. After Game 5, the Giants will be facing the Royals in the World Series.

Prediction: Giants 5, Cardinals 3