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St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: NLDS Preview, TV Schedule, Predictions

Cardinals vs. Dodgers: NLDS Preview

Cardinals vs. Dodgers
Jayne Kamin-Oncea -- USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers begin their National League Division Series matchup on Friday, and these are teams that are very familiar with each other. Who will win this matchup of two solid perennial favorites?

Cardinals Hitting

Matt Holliday Cardinals
Joe Camporeale -- USA TODAY Sports

Cardinals Hitting

Matt Holliday Cardinals
Joe Camporeale -- USA TODAY Sports

Matt Holliday has always been one of the leading hitters on the Cardinal ballclub, but Matt Adams (.288) led the team's regulars in hitting this season. Matt Carpenter and Holliday each hit .272, and Jhonny Peralta hit .263 after a slow start. However, many hitters had slow seasons, like Oscar Taveras (.239) and Peter Bourjos (.231).

Dodgers Hitting

Yasiel Puig Dodgers
Gary A. Vasquez -- USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers Hitting

Yasiel Puig Dodgers
Gary A. Vasquez -- USA TODAY Sports

Yasiel Puig's .296 batting average was a show-stopper once again in Los Angeles, while Dee Gordon hit .289 and stole 64 bases. Carl Crawford (.300) and Hanley Ramirez (.283) hit very well in limited duty, and Matt Kemp (.287) and Adrian Gonzalez (.276) also had good years.

Cardinals Pitching

Adam Wainwright Cardinals
Jeff Curry -- USA TODAY Sports

Cardinals Pitching

Adam Wainwright Cardinals
Jeff Curry -- USA TODAY Sports

Adam Wainwright was his usual dominant self (20-9, 2.38 ERA) in leading the Cardinals to an NL Central title, and Lance Lynn (15-10, 2.74) was a solid second. Michael Wacha is in the bullpen for this series as John Lackey and Shelby Miller are tapped for Games 3 and 4, respectively. The bullpen, led by Trevor Rosenthal, has been more than adequate.

Dodgers Pitching

Clayton Kershaw Dodgers
Robert Hanashiro -- USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers Pitching

Clayton Kershaw Dodgers
Robert Hanashiro -- USA TODAY Sports

Clayton Kershaw (21-3, 1.77) and Zack Greinke (17-8, 2.71) form a solid one-two punch that was hard to overcome for a lot of teams. Kershaw and Greinke are joined by Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-7, 3.38) and Dan Haren (13-11, 4.02) to form a formidable pitching staff. Kenley Jansen has been solid out of the bullpen all season.

TV Schedule

Los Angeles Dodgers
Robert Hanashiro -- USA TODAY Sports

TV Schedule

Los Angeles Dodgers
Robert Hanashiro -- USA TODAY Sports

This is the TV schedule for the series:

Game 1 -- Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET (Fox Sports One)
Game 2 -- Saturday, 9:30 p.m. ET (MLB Network)
Game 3 -- Monday, TBA (FS One)
Game 4 -- Tuesday, TBA (FS One)
Game 5 -- Thursday, TBA (FS One)

Games 4 and 5 are if necessary). This series could go down to the wire, and both teams have solid pitching. In the end, however, the Dodgers will push the Cardinals to five games before moving on.

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