MLB Playoffs Preview & Analysis: Cardinals Vs Nationals

The Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals will meet in the National League Championship Series which starts Friday evening from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. The Cardinals will get home field advantage despite the fact the Nationals had the better record during the regular season.

The Cardinals finished the year at 91 wins and 71 losses. The Nationals were two games better at 93 wins and 69 losses, but do not have the luxury of having home field advantage due to the fact they were not division winners. The Cardinals won the National League Central, as they were two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. While, the Nationals were four games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. 

Head-to-head this season, the Cardinals won five of seven games this season against the Nationals. St. Louis won three of four games in Washington from April 29-May 2, while the Cardinals then took two of three games against the Nationals from September 16-18. 

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Both the Cardinals and Nationals have a significant amount of momentum at the moment. The Cardinals’ confidence is huge after their 13-1 triumph over the Atlanta Braves in game five of the National League Divisional Series. The Nationals meanwhile came back from a 3-1 deficit on Wednesday to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on a dramatic 10th inning grand slam by Howie Kendrick. 

Why Washington can win:

The Nationals have two of the best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer offer a prolific 1-2 starting punch that the Cardinals simply cannot match. The duo have combined for 28 innings pitched in the 2019 Major League Baseball postseason and have given up only eight earned runs for a very reasonable earned run average of 2.57, considering the fact that the Nationals just beat the most dangerous offensive lineup in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Why St. Louis can win:

The Cardinals have a rising ace in Jack Flaherty and a hot Adam Wainwright, who was outstanding in game three against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Divisional Series. Two of the Cardinals sluggers are also entering the National League Championship Series with a ton of momentum. Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna each batted .429 in the NLDS. The Cardinals have a slight advantage offensively, as no Nationals players reached the .400 mark in batting average against the Dodgers. 

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Betting Insights

• Each of the Cardinals’ last four night games against National League opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.

My take:

Nationals in six. Washington’s pitching is simply too strong to overlook at this time. 

BY JEREMY FREEBORN

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