St. Louis Cardinals Advance to Play Los Angeles Dodgers in NLCS

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 last night behind a dominant Adam Wainwright pitching performance to advance to the NLCS, where they will face a red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers team.

“I wanted it bad. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been,” Wainwright said. “I don’t get a whole lot of nerves when I pitch. Before I pitched today, I was pretty nervous.”

Wainwright threw a complete game against the Pirates, and improved the Cardinals’ record in elimination games to 8-1 over the past three years.

“We’ll take him on the mound any day, especially in a big situation,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “I love the fact that everybody kept asking him about Game 5 last year because I knew that was just bringing even more to the table, if you could even do that.”

“I’m just so fired up for this team and this city right now,” Wainwright said. “Cardinal fans were rockin’ today.”

The Pirates’ magical season, meanwhile, came to an unceremonious end. After a 20-year playoff drought, many wanted Pittsburgh to make a serious playoff run. Now they’ll have to wait until next season, as their divisional rivals sent them packing.

“Every time we turned around, Wainwright got in the way tonight,” Hurdle said. “The at-bats were better, the approach got better, but he kept making pitches.”

Wainwright was completely dominant in the game, and the Cardinals have now established a rock-solid rotation moving forward in the playoffs. Wainwright needed to prove that his collapse in Game 5 last year was just a fluke.

“It’s hard not to think back about what happened in Game 5 last year. I just wanted to prove I could go out there and be a good playoff pitcher,” Wainwright said.

Similarly, home town hero David Freese had a huge game, belting a two-run home run in the second inning.

“He’s a stud. He’s a big-time player at big-time moments,” Wainwright said. “And that’s what we expect of him and that’s what he continues to deliver.”

Though the odds have not yet been released for the NLCS series, the classic matchup should prove to be one of the most interested series in recent playoff history. The Dodgers have a slew of young talent, including controversial budding superstar Yasiel Puig, while the Cardinals represent the conservative old guard. As the saying goes, something’s gotta give.

Here were the betting odds and trends for last night’s game before the action began, courtesy of OddsShark.com.

 

NLDS Game 5: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals: -135 Moneyline Favorites

A few Pirates at Cardinals trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games when playing St. Louis
Pittsburgh is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
St. Louis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh