NLDS Bracket 2019: TV Times, Live Stream for Friday's Schedule

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers moved a step closer to a date in the NLCS on Thursday night.

St. Louis' offense was mostly dormant for the first seven innings against the Atlanta Braves before awakening with two runs in the eighth, then erupting for four more in the ninth.

Former Braves closer Luke Jackson coughed up the first two, and replacement Braves closer Mark Melancon allowed the others. Despite homers from Ronald Acuna and Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the ninth, the Cards survived for a 7-6 victory.

Atlanta now places its hopes on starter Mike Foltynewicz, who was demoted to the minors in June but closed the season strong after an August call-up. St. Louis turns to Jack Flaherty, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the top young pitchers in baseball after pitching to a 2.75 ERA in his second full season in the bigs.

L.A. followed the lead of starter Walker Buehler, who toyed with the Washington Nationals while spinning six scoreless innings with one hit, three walks and eight strikeouts. A three-RBI game from Max Muncy and homers by Gavin Lux and Joc Pederson were more than enough to propel the Dodgers to a 6-0 win.

Washington will trot out 18-game winner Stephen Strasburg and his 3.32 ERA on Friday, while L.A. counters with Clayton Kershaw.

Friday NLDS Schedule

Game 2: St. Louis at Atlanta, 4:37 p.m. ET on TBS

Game 2: Washington at Los Angeles, 9:37 p.m. ET on TBS

Both games can be live-streamed on Watch TBS.

Flaherty Could Be Ace Up Cardinals' Sleeve

Matt York/Associated Press

The Braves entered this series as the superior squad on paper. They boasted the more electric offense, rostered the best player in this series (Acuna) and had home-field advantage.

But the Cards have Flaherty, and that might be all that matters on Friday.

A popular breakout pick ahead of this campaign, the 23-year-old somehow exceeded all expectations with a second half for the ages. He delivered a 0.91 ERA (not a typo), struck out 11.2 batters per nine and posted an absurd 0.715 WHIP. He allowed three earned runs during his September 14 start and one total during his other five outings in the month.

"What we saw the second half is unlike anything I've ever seen," Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright told reporters. "It's incredible what he's done. We're not in the playoffs without him."

Atlanta hasn't seen Flaherty since two starts in May. Even then, the Braves couldn't muster up much offense. He pitched 12 innings and allowed only three earned runs, all of which came in the same frame. Nothing was really squared up, as the runs came off three singles, two walks and a sacrifice fly.

It's worth noting Atlanta's offense can mash against anyone. The Braves ranked fourth in the NL with 249 home runs, as Acuna, Freeman and Josh Donaldson all belted more than 35.

But given the groove Flaherty is in, runs will likely come at a premium. That puts the onus on Foltynewicz to continue flashing his late-season form. He made 10 starts after getting called back up and only allowed more than three earned runs in one of them.

The Cardinals are by no means an offensive juggernaut (10th in the NL in runs scored), but they looked the part on Thursday. Seven of their 14 hits went for extra bases, including Paul Goldschmidt's long ball in the top of the eighth.

Can Kershaw Solve Playoff Puzzle?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

It's usually unwise to question anything pitching-related when it comes to Kershaw. He went 16-5 this season, booked yet another All-Star trip, produced a 3.03 ERA, struck out 189 batters in 178.1 innings—and this qualified as a down year.

But the postseason remains the biggest stain on his otherwise pristine resume.

During the 2014 NLDS, the 31-year-old was tagged for 11 earned runs in 12.2 innings. In the 2016 division series, it was 15 hits and eight runs in 12.1. During the 2017 World Series, he surrendered seven runs in 15.2. In last year's Fall Classic, his ERA ballooned to 7.36 across 11 innings.

He's an all-time great in the regular season, owning a minuscule 2.44 career ERA. Get to the playoffs, though, and he's almost just another guy with a 4.32.

While he lets others dissect the significance of those stats, Kershaw at least admits there's a different kind of pressure this time of year.

"There's just the pressure to win the World Series," he told reporters. "That's what the Dodgers means. We expect to win the World Series every single year, regardless of what's happened in years past. This season's no different than that."

Kershaw's Game 2 task is tricky—much trickier than Buehler made it seem. The Bryce Harper-less Nationals scored the NL's second-most runs this season. They have dynamic young talent in Juan Soto (34 homers, 110 RBI), Trea Turner (35 steals, 17 home runs) and Victor Robles (28 steals, 17 homers), plus the criminally underrated Anthony Rendon (34 home runs, 126 RBI).

Washington can score runs, it just didn't Thursday night. Kershaw can keep runs off the board, he just doesn't always in the playoffs. Friday night should be fun.