Kuzul

Prince Fielder smiles a lot. He turns first base into his office, complete with an open-door policy. He chats up base runners, he joshes with umpires. His big face is often lit up with joviality.

Fielder clearly loves his job—so much so that he never takes a day off. Not once has Prince played hooky as a Tiger—and not for quite some time before that as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Since becoming a regular in 2006, Fielder has missed just 13 games—and none since sitting out one in 2010.

The consecutive games-played streak is being honored by Tigers manager Jim Leyland, and as with any such streak, it’s criticized as being perhaps a bit on the selfish side. Baseball is a long grind, and unless you’re the second coming of Cal Ripken Jr., conventional wisdom says you need a day off now and again. Heck, they even said it about Cal himself.

So, Fielder gets his props for playing every day, for smiling, for having fun. His moon face is a fixture at first base—for better and for worse, as the vows say.

The question as to whether Fielder should be given a day off here and there is moot now. These are the playoffs; this isn’t the time for days off. Same goes for Miguel Cabrera.

Ahh, Miguel.

Cabrera smiles a lot, too. He plays the corner opposite Fielder in the infield, and Miggy has as much fun as Prince does, maybe more. Both Fielder and Cabrera are like big kids who haven’t quite grown up, and you get the feeling sometimes that they’d play baseball for nothing.

Cabrera is hurting and hurting bad. That has been well documented. The reigning MVP and Triple Crown winner of a year ago is playing with half a body—the top half. Everything from his stomach on down is a mess.

His home run in Game 5 of the ALDS notwithstanding, Cabrera isn’t anywhere near the hitter he can be—robbed of his fearsomeness by the groin, abdominal and hip muscles that are plaguing him.

Fielder hits behind Cabrera, as he has since becoming a Tiger before the 2012 season. In baseball parlance, they call it protection—placing someone behind your big slugger so teams aren’t as eager to pitch around the slugger.

It’s a sound strategy, and with someone of Fielder’s capabilities, it is indeed a deterrent to constantly pitch around Cabrera.

But these are the playoffs, and Prince Fielder’s history says that when the calendar turns to the 10th month, he turns to goo.

Entering the 2013 postseason, Fielder’s playoff numbers were feeble for a man of his regular season stature.

Fielder was 19-for-104 for his career in the playoffs through last season—9-for-52 as a Tiger, with one home run and three RBI.

That’s not what Mike Ilitch had in mind when he rescued Fielder from the ignominy of being an unwanted free agent just weeks before spring training in 2012.

It hasn’t gotten any better in this postseason.

Cabrera is swinging with basically just his wrists, and Fielder is, by all accounts, healthy as a horse.

Yet, Fielder isn’t really providing any of that so-called protection as he didn’t last year. He has been, frankly, a total bust in the playoffs for his entire career.

That has to change—and fast.

The Tigers need Prince Fielder now more than ever, and they are in the unenviable position of relying on a guy whose postseason resume wouldn’t make it past a recruiter’s first screening.

Cabrera showed, with that clutch homer in Game 5 of the ALDS against Oakland, that the hands still have it—that the wrists can still yank an inside pitch about 375 feet.

But mostly, Cabrera is a singles hitter—half a player who is on the field on sheer guts and nothing else. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if, when the baseball games for the Tigers are done for the year, we find out that Cabrera needs some sort of surgery.

Baseball history is filled with feats of grandeur from players who seem to turn it up a notch when October arrives. When the games mean the most, the performances grow exponentially.

Reggie Jackson and his three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. Sandy Koufax, limited to just a fastball, beating the Minnesota Twins on two days’ rest in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. Jack Morris, going 10 ferocious innings to win Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Who can forget Mickey Lolich, working on short rest and tossing a complete game victory in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series—beating Bob Gibson, no less, who was another who craved the pressure.

And so on.

Fielder has been the antithesis of this.

He’s a slugger who shrinks when the spotlight is on. In the playoffs, the emperor has no clothes.

I have been impressed with Fielder’s knowledge of the strike zone. I don’t believe him to be a flailing windmill. I don’t think he gets enough credit for working a count—in the regular season.

In the playoffs, he turns into a different hitter.

The strike zone becomes generous—at Prince’s behest. He hacks away, almost in a panic. He is twice the easy out he is in games played between April and September.

Prince Fielder has been invisible in the playoffs, yet he’s been impossible to miss. His postseason failure is the elephant in the room.

This isn’t the bleating of someone who believes that a keyboard turns him into an expert. The numbers are raw, and they aren’t pretty. You can look them up yourself, if you’re so inclined.

The Tigers need Prince Fielder more than ever with Miguel Cabrera hurt if they’re to wiggle past the Boston Red Sox and make a return appearance in the World Series.

Fielder has yet to show, in over 100 postseason at-bats, that he can be someone on which to rely in October. A cynic might say that he just doesn’t have it in him.

We’ll see.

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Carlos Beltran was the center of the story in last night’s 13-inning NLCS Game 1 between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.  He drove in all three of St. Louis’ runs.  He provided the postseason heroics that fans have come to expect from him.  In the 10th inning, Beltran made the defensive play of the night, calling off Jon Jay on a fly ball and throwing out Dodgers’ second baseman Mark Ellis at the plate.

The play was set up by strange managerial decisions on both sides of the field.  For Don Mattingly, his decision to send Dee Gordon to pinch run for Adrian Gonzalez in the 8th inning led to Michael Young being the hitter at the plate with runners on first and third and one out in the 10th.  Mike Matheny would counter that move with the decision to leave his closer, Trevor Rosenthal, in the game for a second inning to try and keep the game tied.

The result was one of the most exciting moments of this year’s postseason thus far.  Young lifted a fly ball to right field, Ellis tagged from third to try to score and Beltran executed a flawless throw to the plate.

Many across the internet immediately began to question the call at the plate, wondering if catcher Yadier Molina actually tagged Ellis or just blocked the base path causing the collision.  It led Alyson Footer of MLB.com to ask Ellis about it directly after the game:

“It was pretty obvious I got tagged out,” said Ellis, who hit a one-out triple before the play. “There was a collision at home plate. They’re going to call you out every time. You run into it, you’re out. That’s how they’re going to call it.”

Obviously, a tag must be made to record the out.  Equally obvious is that a runner is not going to get a call in his favor when the ball beats him by a significant amount of time and he collides with the defender.  Expecting an umpire to determine if the tag was truly made during that amount of body contact is absurd.

That being said, I agreed with the many fans that pointed out the missing tag.  Watching the play from various angles—and even in real time—it did not appear that Molina tagged Ellis, and the Cardinals caught a bit of a break in a very important situation.

The important view is the one from the first base side, where the viewer can have a clear view of the glove of Molina and the contact with Ellis.  The Facebook page for fan site STL Cardinal Baseball pointed out the point of contact very clearly early this morning:

To #Dodgers fans and everyone else still questioning, this is what a tag looks like in baseball. He was out. #STLCards

It appears that next season will see the arrival of Instant Replay and the ability to review plays of this nature.  The impact on the game will surely be significant.  Plays that have become a routine call will now have to be executed in a more deliberate way.  The outcome of games may be impacted greatly in the future.

This was not one of those games.  The tag was made.  Game 1 of the NLCS belongs to the Cardinals.

More specifically, it belongs to Carlos Beltran.

The above referenced Facebook page and the subsequent website that it represents is a fan site and bears no official connection to the St. Louis Cardinals or Major League Baseball.

Follow me on Twitter to discuss all things baseball throughout the postseason.

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The revamped Boston Red Sox host the star-laden Detroit Tigers in a compelling ALCS matchup, beginning with Saturday’s Game 1. Here, Bleacher Report presents the keys for each team to come away with a victory.

Don’t underestimate the importance of series openers. Dan Hirsch, creator of The Baseball Gauge, tweeted about the historical consequences of their outcomes in best-of-seven battles like this one, saying the home team takes the series the majority of the time. 

These division winners met barely a month ago, but so much has changed since then. The rosters have been trimmed and fortified with previously injured and underrated players.

Once the fun begins from Fenway Park, you’ll observe the following factors influencing the final score.

*Stats provided by Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have something special in Michael Wacha.

The 22-year-old rookie introduced himself to a national audience earlier this week when he flirted with a no-hitter and saved the Cardinals from elimination in a must-win Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Pirates.

And now, with Wacha set to take the mound Saturday in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, it’s seemingly only a matter of time until the right-hander becomes a household name.

Boasting a unique combination of electric stuff, mature command and veteran-like poise, Wacha arguably has been as important of a big-game pitcher for the Cardinals as Adam Wainwright. Basically, if Wainwright is the team’s staff ace, then Wacha should be considered the ace-in-training.

After joining the starting rotation in early September, Wacha was 2-1 with a 1.72 ERA, .198 opponent batting average and 28/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31.1 innings (five starts) over the final month of the season. More importantly, he played a vital role in the club’s incredible 19-8 record in September and eventual clinching of the NL Central title.

Meanwhile, Wacha ended his impressive rookie campaign in dominating fashion, coming within one out of a no-hitter before allowing an infield single to Ryan Zimmerman. As a result of his overwhelming late-season success, the right-hander was named to the Cardinals’ starting rotation for the NLDS.

NLDS Game 4: A Quick Review

Facing a potential elimination with a loss in Game 4 of the NLDS, Wacha’s performance was everything the Cardinals could have asked for and then some. The right-hander allowed one run on one hit and two walks with nine strikeouts over 7.1 impressive frames, and he carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before surrendering a solo home run to Pedro Alvarez with one out. 

Wacha’s command of his entire arsenal was superb, as he registered a strike with 60 of his 96 total pitches and threw a first-pitch strike to 16 of 25 hitters.

As I noted after that start, Wacha’s effectiveness with the fastball was the key to his success against the Pirates. Per Brooks Baseball, the right-hander used it 72.5 percent of the time in the outing, throwing 44 of them for a strike. Due to his advanced command and feel for locating the pitch throughout the strike zone, Pittsburgh’s hitters were unable to sit on a specific location. As a result, Wacha’s fastball generated 11 whiffs over the course of the game and was responsible for five of his nine strikeouts.

Wacha’s effectiveness with his secondary arsenal also played a major role in the rookie’s historically good postseason debut. The right-hander used his plus-plus changeup 11 times (12.1 percent) in the game, throwing it for a strike seven times and inducing one swing-and-miss. However, Wacha’s breaking ball proved to be an even greater weapon, as he threw nine of his 14 curveballs for a strike while generating three whiffs (all strikeouts). 

NLCS Game 2: Preview

After flirting with a no-hitter in each of his last two outings, manager Mike Matheny wisely elected to go with Wacha for Game 2 of the NLCS over Lance Lynn.

However, Wacha will have a more challenging assignment when he takes the mound Saturday against a red-hot Dodger offense that collectively posted a .962 OPS with 18 extra-base hits and 26 RBI over four NLDS games against the Braves.

Of the potential NLCS starters for St. Louis, Wacha was the only one not to face the Dodgers during the regular season. For a young pitcher with his combination of stuff and command, that’s usually an advantage.

Wacha kept his response simple when asked at Monday’s press conference whether his lack of experience against the Dodgers might serve as an advantage, via MLB.com.

“I’m not real sure,” he said. “I’d sometimes like to see a lineup a couple of times, then you really know if they struggle against a certain pitch or not.”

Though the Dodgers will be forced to rely on advance scouting reports and video as they prepare for Wacha in Game 2, the team can find solace in the fact that it hit the ball well during its only trip to Busch Stadium during the regular season. Taking three of four games from the Cardinals in early August, the Los Angeles offense batted .306/.373/.396 with 44 hits and 22 runs scored in 164 plate appearances.

Additionally, by designating Wacha as the Game 2 starter, Matheny will have his young right-hander available to start Game 6 (also at home) if necessary. And it would only be fitting to see Wacha take the mound for the Cardinals with a World Series berth at stake.

What Wacha’s Success Means for the 2014 Season

At this point, it’s a foregone conclusion that Wacha will open the 2014 season in the Cardinals rotation. The only question is whether he’ll be their No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

Other than Adam Wainwright, the rookie has been the Cardinals’ hottest pitcher over the last six weeks, continually thriving on the big stage and with the season on the line. For a pitcher with only 71.3 innings of experience at the major league level, Wacha’s lack of an exploitable weakness is remarkable. While there have been countless young pitchers to reach the major leagues this season behind big fastballs and nasty secondary pitches, none have matched his polish and pitchability.

The fact that Wacha has already figured things out at a young age is scary in the sense that he’s only going to get better moving forward. And if his performance this year during both the regular season and playoffs is a truly sign of what’s to come, the right-hander should enjoy a long and illustrious career at the front of the Cardinals’ starting rotation.

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Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals is going into the vault as another chapter in the book of legendary things done in October by the great Carlos Beltran.

Game 1 of the NLCS saw Beltran do that thing he has a tendency to do in the postseason. The perennial playoff hero hit a two-run double in the third inning that knotted the score at 2-2, and it was his single down the right field line in the 13th inning that scored Daniel Descalso and allowed the Cardinals to walk off with a 3-2 victory.

But if you missed it, don’t make the mistake of thinking that Beltran won Game 1 single-handedly. He was lent a helping hand on Friday night/Saturday morning at Busch Stadium.

And of all places, it came from the opposing dugout.

We could call the book’s latest chapter “Another Carlos Beltran Game,” but we might as well call it “The Don Mattingly Game.” For while the Cardinals owe their win to their veteran outfielder, the Dodgers owe their loss to their manager. 

The third-year skipper made a series of mistakes throughout the proceedings that cost the Dodgers dearly in the end. And since the night’s performance was hardly a first for Mattingly, the writing is on the wall in big, bold letters: If the Dodgers are going to win the World Series, they need Don Mattingly to stop doing Don Mattingly things.

For them to be the best, he needs to get better.

OK, let’s get our bearings here. I used the ol‘ “if you missed it” line back there just as a convenient transition, but maybe you really did miss it and you have no idea what the heck is going on. Maybe you don’t know why Mattingly is lying under that bus over there.

Well, let’s see. I suppose the madness started in the eighth inning.

It was a 2-2 game when Dodgers first baseman and cleanup man Adrian Gonzalez came to the plate with nobody out in the top of the eighth. He drew a leadoff walk against Carlos Martinez, and that’s when Mattingly made his first puzzling move. Rather than let Gonzalez run for himself, Mattingly inserted Dee Gordon as a pinch-runner.

A bold move indeed. Gordon’s undeniably fast, but he’s not a great base stealer, with a modest career success rate of 70 percent. Plus, there was Yadier Molina, arguably the greatest defensive catcher in history, behind the plate. Even putting in Billy Hamilton to run would have been a risky call.

And if it didn’t pay off, the Dodgers would have lost their cleanup hitter for nothing.

Sure enough, Mattingly didn’t call for Gordon to take off. He stood glued to first base until Yasiel Puig grounded a ball to Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma, who easily erased Gordon at second base.

And that was it for him. Gordon was lifted from the game in favor of Michael Young, who was inserted in the cleanup spot and at first base. Mattingly had wasted his best speed weapon off the bench, and he ended up with a lesser fielder at first and a lesser hitter at cleanup as a result.

This naturally came back to bite the Dodgers. Twice.

The first time it bit the Dodgers was in the 10th inning. Mark Ellis hit a one-out triple that was followed by an intentional walk to Hanley Ramirez. Young then hit a fly ball to right field that Beltran caught and turned into an inning-ending double play with a strike to home that beat Ellis to the plate.

It’s hard to tell, even in the slow-motion replays, whether Molina actually tagged Ellis, but consider what that situation might have looked like if Mattingly hadn’t subbed Gordon for Gonzalez in the eighth. It would have been Gonzalez at the plate, and possibly Gordon at third base.

Gonzalez, a .293 hitter in the regular season, might have gotten a hit. Had he hit that same fly ball to Beltran instead, the speedy Gordon would have scored easily.

But wait, there’s more that went down in the 12th inning.

Batting against Lance Lynn, Carl Crawford led off the top of the inning with a single. Rather than let Ellis hit away, Mattingly called for him to sacrifice Crawford to second with a bunt.

The bunt was successful…and also not at the same time. What it did was open up first base for Ramirez, making it an easy call for the Cardinals to take his bat out of his hands with an intentional walk. That brought Young to the plate, and he grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Meanwhile, Mattingly was making a mistake in-between these mistakes by keeping Kenley Jansen confined to the bullpen, signalling that he was intent on only using him in a save situation.

This despite the fact Jansen held hitters to a lower OPS in non-save situations in 2013 than he did in save situations. And also despite the fact Jansen didn’t become the Dodgers “closer” until June.

What Mattingly was doing was prioritizing Jansen’s role over his actual pitching ability. As Matt Snyder of CBS Sports pointed out:

Jansen eventually made it into the game in the 13th inning, but not until after Chris Withrow had allowed a single to Descalso and a walk to Matt Carpenter to put the winning run in scoring position with maybe the greatest postseason hitter ever striding to the plate. 

Mattingly could have asked a much smaller favor of his best relief pitcher several innings earlier. He instead asked a huge favor, and Jansen couldn’t come through.

When it was all over, there was no quarter for Mattingly in the Twitterverse. Many took to trolling him, but it was Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated who said it best with this subtle barb:

This has to do with the aforementioned fact that Mattingly‘s night of mistakes wasn’t a first for him. Heck, it wasn’t even a first for him within the Dodgers’ last four games.

In the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Mattingly chose to make a pitching change rather than have Withrow face Jose Constanza, he of the .575 OPS over the last two seasons. Once Reed Johnson pinch-hit for Constanza, Mattingly chose to walk him intentionally to bring Jason Heyward to the plate instead.

This would be the same Jason Heyward who had a .932 OPS after the break. The same Jason Heyward who, seeing as how he posted a higher OPS against lefties than against righties, was not going to be afraid of facing the lefty-throwing Paco Rodriguez.

And ultimately, this would be the same Jason Heyward who clubbed a two-run single that gave the Braves a 4-1 lead. Rather than give a lead to the Dodgers, all Ramirez’s two-run homer in the next frame could do was cut into the Braves’ lead.

The Heyward blunder was a gaffe that actually happened, and then there was the gaffe that could have happened in Game 4. 

The Dodgers entered the eighth inning trailing 3-2 and with a golden opportunity ahead of them with David Carpenter on the mound for the Braves instead of the usually invincible Craig Kimbrel (derp, because he’s a closer, derp). When Puig led off with a double, the Dodgers were in business.

And then Mattingly asked Juan Uribe to bunt. He was willing to trust a guy with only three sacrifices all season to not screw this one up. On top of that, he was willing to give the Braves a free out even though there was already a runner in scoring position, and a speedy one at that.

Fortunately, Uribe wasn’t able to get a bunt down. Instead, he hit a two-run homer that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Via Amanda Rykoff, the irony of the moment was not lost on longtime Dodgers broadcaster/bard Vin Scully:

There’s an alternate universe out there in which Uribe’s bunt is successful. Within that same universe, maybe that free out bites the Dodgers, who fail to score and then go down against Kimbrel in the ninth. 

And in that scenario, of course, the Dodgers would have burned a start by Clayton Kershaw on short rest for a loss that sent the series back to Atlanta for Game 5. The questions, second-guesses and outrage would have come down on Mattingly like a ton of bricks.

You know, sort of like they are now. As well they should be.

There have been worse managers than Mattingly. Heck, there are worse managers than Mattingly. It’s easy enough to realize that once you remember that Bobby Valentine is still out there somewhere.

Exactly what sort of value Mattingly brings to the Dodgers, however, is unclear. 

It’s easy to credit Mattingly with keeping his house in order when it could easily have fallen apart when it was being written as early as May that his job was hanging by a thread.

The team started playing good baseball soon after, sure, but that good baseball just so happened to coincide with the arrival of Puig and Ramirez finally getting healthy. In early July, Zack Greinke turned on the jets. Then, Ricky Nolasco arrived and was terrific for a dozen starts.

If the question is how much of the Dodgers’ success this season is due to their talent and how much of it to Mattingly‘s leadership, you have to side with the former to a staggering degree. With that payroll and that roster, it’s not like the Dodgers overachieved under Mattingly.

The debate over Mattingly‘s actual value to the Dodgers could have been had before the postseason even began. But regardless of the exact number of skeptics he had out there, October was going to be Mattingly‘s chance to shut them up by managing the heck out of his ballclub. If ever there was a time for Mattingly to be confirmed as a “great manager with great talent” rather than as a “manager with great talent,” it’s going on right now.

And so far, he’s been a huge disappointment.

Mattingly could have cost the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS. He did cost the Dodgers in Game 2 of that series. Likewise, he did cost the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS. That’s three games out of five that have Mattingly‘s fingerprints on them, and not in a good way.

Mattingly can’t keep this up. Not at this rate. Not against a Cardinals team that is miles more legit than the Braves ever were—Atlanta tied for last in strength of schedule this season. Not in a setting where one game carries the weight of dozens. 

It’s on Mattingly to do his utmost to make sure that weight doesn’t come crashing down. If he doesn’t, the Dodgers are invariably going to find themselves falling short of the World Series. 

And that’s when the Dodgers could well decide that new leadership is needed.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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Already a borderline Hall of Famer based on his regular-season performance, Carlos Beltran has made a habit out of flipping the switch from formidable to unstoppable in the playoffs.

This October has been no exception. The veteran switch-hitter followed a productive NLDS by carrying the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. His contributions included a clutch throw to home plate in the 10th inning and a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 13th.

Although Beltran is making a tremendous impact in 2013, history has taught us that his individual dominance doesn’t guarantee a trip to the World Series.

See for yourself in the table below. 

St. Louis was an offensive juggernaut this past summer, leading the Senior Circuit in on-base percentage and runs scored. That’s because Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and Allen Craig, among others, complemented Beltran’s power hitting with elite production of their own.

However, Carpenter has totaled only two hits through the first six postseason games (.087 BA) after an All-Star-caliber year atop the lineup. Holliday is being way too aggressive, as evidenced by his one walk in 25 plate appearances. Craig continues to rehab from a foot injury, but he still hasn’t started running. He won’t be a factor unless the Cardinals advance to the Fall Classic.

Meanwhile, Beltran has single-handedly driven in nine of his team’s 24 playoff runs, including all three on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-jin Ryu to the mound in Games 2 and 3, respectively. Those lefties will force Beltran to swing from the right side, and he posted an underwhelming .252/.281/.448 batting line under those circumstances this season.

Even assuming that he elevates the quality of his play under the bright lights, it’s unrealistic to expect the 36-year-old to maintain a superhuman pace against them.

Above all, the Cardinals’ chances of clinching the NL pennant hinge upon their pitching staff overcoming its inexperience. Half of Mike Matheny’s arms are rookies, and bullpen veterans like John Axford and Edward Mujica haven’t been particularly trustworthy lately.

In 2004, 2006 and 2012, Beltran was sent packing following losses in Game 7. For that to change, Adam Wainwright will need to live up to his rotation-leader reputation if that scenario presents itself this time around.

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Now that Major League Baseball’s final four have been determined, it’s only a matter of a little more time until but two remain.

With the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers in the American League and the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League, there are four possible iterations of World Series matchups. But which pair of teams would make for the most compelling showdown?

To be sure, drama and intrigue would come right along with any of the four possibilities. But strictly from a between-the-white-lines angle, one head-to-head battle would set itself up for particularly compelling competition…

Tigers vs. Dodgers.

Certainly, there’s a strong case to be made that Red Sox-Dodgers would be a matchup for the ages, a made-for-television showcase, as fellow MLB Lead Writer Zach Rymer wrote recently. That one comes complete with roster subplots galore, big-market juice, East Coast-West Coast rivalry and more. It’s hard to argue that wouldn’t be best for the sport or for ratings. (And in the interest of full disclosure, it’s the Series I would most like to watch from a pure entertainment factor.)

But Tigers-Dodgers? That would have much of the same—big names, big personalities, big markets—but it would also have two elements that no other potential matchup would. (Again, in the interest of disclosing information, I’ll point out that this was the matchup I picked, so there is that.)

First, these great franchises are the only two of the remaining four who have never faced each other in the World Series.

We saw the Red Sox break the Curse of the Bambino and end their 86-year drought by beating the Cardinals in 2004. Only two years after that, the Cardinals toppled the Tigers to win it all in 2006. And the Red Sox and Dodgers is another been-there-done-that Series—even if that was all the way back in 1916 when the Dodgers were known as the Brooklyn Robins. (Bonus points if you got that one.)

Second, it’s been at least 25 years since either the Tigers or the Dodgers have captured the championship. The Dodgers last did so in 1988, while the Tigers haven’t won since 1984.

Tigers-Dodgers would be new, it would be different and it would be a title a long time in the making for either side. But getting back to the actual on-the-diamond aspect of this potential matchup.

Question: What makes for the best competition in baseball? Pitching, of course. Specifically, pitching of the starting variety. And wouldn’t you know it: The Dodgers and Tigers have the best rotation ERAs in their respective leagues.

L.A.’s 3.13 starters’ ERA was tops in the game, while Detroit’s 3.44 was fourth overall (barely behind two other NL clubs) but No. 1 in the AL.

And my goodness, imagine the possibilities when it comes to pitching matchups with names like Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the mix to be on the mound for as many as two games apiece. Whatever permutation you pick, the hype, anticipation and buildup of the showdown could only be matched by the mastery, artistry and must-watch theater of each actual performance.

With that much elite starting pitching, runs would be at even more of a premium than they are amid the postseason in this pitching-dominated period. Every single at-bat with a runner on would be a rare event, occurring perhaps only slightly more frequently than Halley’s Comet. It would give that much more meaning to all other facets of the game, like the managers’ strategies, the defenders’ focus and the hitters’ execution.

There are reasons why other possible Fall Classic matchups would be fun, dramatic and compelling, too. But for pure competition, the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers could be one giant pitchers’ duel of a World Series.

And good pitching beats, well, everything else.

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The start of the championship series round brought with it the first extra-innings game of the postseason, as the St. Louis Cardinals outlasted the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in 13 innings on Friday night to take a 1-0 NLCS lead at Busch Stadium. 

Carlos Beltran, as he tends to do in postseason games, was the hero. He drove in all three runs, including the game-winning RBI single in the 13th, and threw out Mark Ellis at home in the top of the 10th to keep the Cards alive.

Lance Lynn, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief, recorded the win. 

Cardinals starter Joe Kelly displayed plenty of early-game jitters. He was forced to work out of a dangerous jam in the first, gave up another hit in the second and finally allowed two runs to cross the plate in the third. 

After giving up a double to Carl Crawford and walking Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez to load the bases, Kelly got Yasiel Puig to harmlessly ground out but subsequently gave up a two-out, two-run single to the red-hot Juan Uribe:

Kelly settled into a groove after that, though, retiring nine of the next 11 batters to finish with a final line of six innings, six hits, two walks, two earned runs and five strikeouts. 

Perhaps even more importantly, he sparked an offensive rally in the bottom of the third to help the Cards get to Greinke. 

The former Cy Young winner sat down the first eight batters of the game in easy fashion, but Kelly delivered a two-out single in the third, then Matt Carpenter walked and Beltran—as has become a custom of the postseason—delivered the big hit.

“Senor Octubre” crushed a 3-1 pitch from Greinke to deep center, and Andre Ethier was unable to lasso it in at the wall:

Greinke immediately settled back down and continued to roll, giving up just four hits, one walk and two earned runs over eight dynamite innings while striking out 10. 

After the four-run third inning was split down the middle, the teams continued to match each other with six scoreless—and harmless—innings before the Dodgers appeared to finally break through in the 10th. 

But after Ellis hit a single-turned-triple by some shoddy defending from Jon Jay in center field, Michael Young flew out to Beltran, who nailed Ellis at the plate with a cannon of a throw to help closer Trevor Rosenthal escape the inning unscathed:

The game carried on until Beltran—honestly, who else?—stepped to the plate against Kenley Jansen with two on in the 13th and ripped a single down the right-field line to win the game. 

Nearly five hours and 400 total pitches later, the Cardinals have an early series lead.

See you again in about 14 hours. 

Player Grades

Zack Greinke, Dodgers: A

Greinke hasn’t given up more than two runs since July 25 (!), so this performance wasn’t all that surprising. But that doesn’t take away from its brilliance. 

The veteran starter had his longest outing since August, and for the majority of the game he was pretty much unhittable—he changed speeds beautifully (including a nasty Eephus pitch), worked efficiently, fielded his position well and entered the Dodgers record books with a season-high 10 strikeouts:

Unfortunately, his worst mistake—you can’t give up a hit to the opposing pitcher, especially with two outs—came back to bite him for two runs.

Joe Kelly, Cardinals: A-

Kelly wasn’t as razor-sharp as Greinke by any means. It took him 95 pitches to get through six innings, and he had just one 1-2-3 frame. 

Still, you have to give the 25-year-old massive credit for settling down after a very uneven start—many would have collapsed after the first three innings he had—and keeping the Cardinals close. 

And starting the team’s only real offensive rally through the first 12 innings? Well, that’s just gravy on top of a very solid pitching performance.

Juan Uribe, Dodgers: B+

Apparently the three days off did very little to cool down Uribe, who homered in Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. 

Uribe delivered a clutch, two-out, two-RBI single in the third inning, which, you know, is just customary at this point:

An untimely, rally-killing double play in the eighth inning was rough, but it didn’t take away from a night in which Uribe once again came through huge at the plate. 

Carlos Beltran, Cardinals: A

Much like with Uribe, a new opponent wasn’t enough to halt Beltran’s momentum.

The veteran outfielder was the only player to really get a good swing on the near-untouchable Greinke with his clutch two-RBI double, and his pinpoint dart from right field to get Ellis at the plate in the 10th saved the game for the Cards.

The big hit was pretty much typical of postseason Beltran, but he brought out the vintage arm to save the Cards in extra innings, further highlighting his “clutch” factor.

Oh, yeah, and he had the walk-off hit, too. Ho-hum.

What’s Next

Game 2 will be on Saturday at 4:07 p.m. ET. A couple of white-hot pitchers will meet in Clayton Kershaw and youngster Michael Wacha.

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Outfielder Carlos Beltran has been his generation’s most dominant postseason slugger, but a game-saving throw in Game 1 of the NLCS showed that he’s also valuable beyond the batter’s box:

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers were knotted up at 2-2 in the top of the 10th inning when Mark Ellis made a bold decision. The veteran second baseman tested Beltran’s arm on a fly ball to right field by attempting to tag up and score. The throw couldn’t have been put in a better spot, and catcher Yadier Molina blocked Ellis’ path to home plate and applied the tag in time.

Not surprisingly, the sell-out crowd at Busch Stadium was pleased with the result:

Carlos Beltran nails Mark Ellis at the plate. Yadier Molina holds on. And Busch Stadium ERUPTS. #NLCS

— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2013

It’s fitting that Beltran and Molina were the principal players responsible for this play.

They’ve been carrying the Cards through the playoffs. The All-Star switch-hitter contributed three extra-base hits and a .944 OPS during the NLDS, while Molina posted a .929 OPS in that round and masterfully handled the St. Louis pitching staff.

Even before the throw, these two veterans had made their presence felt in the NLCS opener.

Beltran drove in two runs with a third-inning double, which is the only reason the game extended into extra innings. Of course, Molina’s incredible talent as a game-caller (particularly when paired with a shaky Joe Kelly) was vital in keeping the Dodgers from pulling ahead again.

Dan Hirsch of Seamheads.com reminds us just how important it is for the home team to start hot in a best-of-seven playoff format:

Game 1 of a 2-3-2 series is a 20% swing. When home team wins, they go on to win series 65% of the time. When they lose, it’s just 45%

— Dan Hirsch (@DanHirsch) October 12, 2013

This Beltran-Molina play helped keep the Cardinals’ hopes alive of getting that all-important first win in the series.

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Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig didn’t get his moment on the international stage during the 2013 All-Star Game, but he’s certainly taking advantage of it in these MLB playoffs.

Puig flaunted his tremendous arm strength in the seventh inning of Game 1. His catch-and-throw doubled Jon Jay off of first base, ending a St. Louis Cardinals scoring threat: 

Let’s not forget that Puig had to bolt to his right just to make the catch. Against many other teams, David Freese gets a hit on that line drive, and the Red Birds would’ve been set up with runners at the corners in a tied game.

Turning that can of corn into two outs allowed Zack Greinke to escape the inning with a reasonable pitch count. As a result, he made it through the eighth inning too, thus preserving the bullpen in game that would eventually spill into extra frames.

Although Puig’s athletic feats continue to impress the masses, we’ve reached a point where nothing that he does surprises us. Actually, this particular defensive gem is awfully comparable to one he completed against the Atlanta Braves in last week’s NLDS:

The rookie superstar is spoiling us. Even in real time, the baseball world reacts as if this sort of defensive gem were routine:

Don’t run on Puig. Don’t even consider running on Puig.

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) October 12, 2013

somebody tried to run on puig? i don’t have my tv on, and i woulda told him to stop.

— Bomani Jones (@bomani_jones) October 12, 2013

The Los Angeles Dodgers would’ve struggled to qualify for the postseason without the 22-year-old. He batted .319/.391/.534 with 19 home runs in 104 games, filling a void in the outfield while Matt Kemp battled various injuries. 

Puig was also excellent during the NLDS (.471/.500/.529, 5 R in 18 PA).

Of course, he doesn’t necessary have to get on base constantly to help the Dodgers advance to the Fall Classic. This play reminded us of that.

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