Expert MLB NLDS Baseball Picks: Cardinals Vs Dodgers

The Major League Baseball Playoffs are finally here and the excitement that baseball fans are experiencing is ready to bubble over. The National League Divisional Series features two teams that are rich in tradition in the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cards are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The last time they were here, they won the whole thing. The Dodgers finished with the best record in the National League this year and appear ready to roll. If you’re searching for MLB playoff picks, expect one great series that goes down to the wire in this one.

St. Louis Cardinals: For the Cardinals, its all about Albert Pujols. Albert Pujols is the reigning National League MVP and unless something crazy happens he should be the MVP again. He is the strongest hitter in the game and will go down as one of the best there has ever been.

His combination of hitting for average and power has left him a triple crown contender in nearly every season that he’s been in the league. While Pujols is the star of the team, the pitching is what got them this far. Comeback Player of the Year Chris Carpenter had a stellar season and is in the running for the Cy Young award. Fellow pitcher Adam Wainwright is also up for the Cy Young with an amazing season of his own.

Besides Pujols, the Cardinals also have some other strong bats in their lineup. They went out and got Matt Holiday from the A’s during the season and his protection has helped Pujols see some better pitches. His batting will be critical to the outcome of this series.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers had to deal with a 50 game suspension on the part of Manny Ramirez who was their best player last season. Despite the loss, they still managed to lead their division since April. Manny is back and ready to go. The Dodgers also have one of the most successful managers in MLB history with Joe Torre. He did a fantastic job of getting the team to rally around the absence of Ramirez.

Two players in particular had great seasons in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Ethier put up 31 home runs and 106 RBI and Kemp put up 26 home runs to go along with 101 RBI. Both of them had a huge impact on the success of the season.

The pitching for the Dodgers was not nearly as strong as the Cardinals, but they have some experienced players to rely on. Randy Wolf went 11-7 in the regular season and he will be the opening game starter for the Dodgers.

Outlook: This is a matchup between two really talented teams. The Cardinals seem to have the edge in starting pitching, but they have struggled with run support lately. It remains to be seen whether they can pull it together for the playoffs or not. Look for this one to go down to the final game as both teams are pretty even.

Check out Vernon Croy's free MLB picks for the postseason.