The St. Louis Cardinals, irked by the Los Angeles Dodgers on-field enthusiasm, have a chance to end their playoff party with a win in Wednesday afternoon's Game 5 National League Championship Series (NLCS) match-up.
The Cardinals are looking to make their second World Series appearance in three years after defeating the Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday to take a 3-1 lead in the NLCS. St. Louis needs to be wary, having blown such a lead last year against the San Francisco Giants, who rallied back to win the next three games and eliminate the Cardinals from the playoffs.
"Just because you're up 3-1 doesn't mean anything. Nobody's going to roll over for you," said Cardinals shortstop Daniel Descalso. "That's a good ballclub they've got over there, and they're going to keep fighting. We can't relax. We've got to keep pushing, keep grinding. You don't want to have that feeling again of being up 3-1 and losing three games in a row."
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is looking to prevent a postseason collapse reminding the team not to get overconfident, especially considering that St. Louis batted .148 during the four-game stretch that saw them get eliminated from last year's postseason.
"Hopefully, we can throw some offense together like we were (Tuesday) a little bit and keep some positive thoughts going," said Matheny. "When we start talking about where the series is, I think it's a distraction. What we've got to do is play a game."
The Cardinals will send pitcher Joe Kelly to mound to clinch the series, who pitched six solid innings despite getting a no-decision, allowing two runs off of six hits, in the team's 3-2 Game 1 NLCS victory Friday night.
"I just faced these guys, obviously," said Kelly. "That experience of seeing how these guys approach me is going to help. They know what I've got, and I know what they've got. It's just going to be about executing pitches, ultimately."
The Dodgers will start Zack Greinke, who is 0-1 this postseason with a 2.57 ERA and notched a no-decision in Game 1 of the NLCS. The former AL Cy Young Award winner allowed just two runs in eight innings in his Game 1 outing.
"A lot of times, you'll have one good start and one bad start," said Greinke. "Or if you do bad, you'll probably do good the next time. If you do good, they're going to make an adjustment, and you've got to be faster than them at it."
The Dodgers' biggest worry is their offense, which has produced only seven runs and has gone 6-for-33, batting .182, with runners in scoring position. Adding to the Dodgers offensive woes is the fact that shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who has been playing with broken ribs, may not available for Wednesday's afternoon game.
"We realize we've been through a lot in the regular season, but it pales in comparison to what we're doing now," said Dodger second baseman Mark Ellis. "We realize we have it in us to do this. It's a three-game win streak. That's all it is."
TV Schedule
You can catch Game 5 of the St. Louis Cardinals - Los Angeles Dodgers National League Championship Series Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m EST on TBS.
Live Stream (video)
Live stream coverage can be seen on MLB.tv (subscription required).
Live Stream (audio)
Live stream coverage can be heard MLB.com Gameday Audio.
Live Score
Live scores could be followed by clicking here.
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