DODGERS (95-67) VS. CARDINALS (91-71)

SERIES SCHEDULE (Best-of-5)

Game 1: Today, St. Louis (Carpenter 17-4) at Los Angeles (Wolf 11-7), 9:37 p.m.

Game 2: Tomorrow, St. Louis (Wainwright 19-8) at Los Angeles (Kershaw 8-8), 6:07 p.m.

Game 3: Saturday, Los Angeles at St. Louis (Pineiro 15-12), 6:07 p.m.

Game 4: Sunday, Los Angeles at St. Louis, if necessary

Game 5: Tuesday, St. Louis at Los Angeles, if necessary

(NL Ranking in Parentheses)

Dodgers Cardinals

Avg..270 (t-1st) .263 (t-4th)

Runs780 (4th) 730 (7th)

RBI739 (4th) 694 (7th)

Home Runs145 (11th) 160 (6th)

OBA.346 (1st) .332 (t-9th)

ERA3.41 (1st) 3.66 (4th)

Strikeouts1,272 (t-2nd) 1,049 (13th)

History: The Dodgers and Cardinals last met in the 2004 NLDS series, with the Cardinals winning, 3-1.

This season: The Cardinals won the season series, 5-2, outscoring the Dodgers, 31-19.

About the Dodgers: Los Angeles was 21-8 and on its way to a possibly historic season when Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for steroid use. Ramirez was hitting .348 at the time. Without Ramirez, the Dodgers went 29-21. Ramirez hit .269 the rest of season as Los Angeles (45-38 in its last 83 games) nearly lost its division lead to the Rockies. The Dodgers kept the NL's best record thanks in large part to Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Ethier led the team in home runs (31) and RBI (106), while Kemp slugged 26 homers and had 101 RBI.

About the Cardinals: Tony La Russa loves the finer intricacies of baseball. But when you have Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the middle of your lineup, and Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright at the front of your rotation, the decision-making process becomes a lot easier. Pujols led the majors in home runs (47). He had 135 RBI while batting a cool .327. Holliday, acquired to protect Pujols in a midseason trade with the Oakland Athletics, tore apart NL pitching to the tune of a .353 average. Carpenter was 17-4 with a majors-best 2.24 ERA. Wainwright tied for the major league lead with 19 victories and had a 2.63 ERA.

Fun fact: Remember Ryan Franklin? If you don't, it's understandable. The 36-year-old pitched 46 games for the Phillies in 2006, compiling a 4.58 ERA. But 3 years later, Franklin had a resurgence as the Cardinals closer, saving 38 games in 43 opportunities, with a 1.92 ERA.

What to look for: The matchup might be lost in a pair of intriguing subplots. Managers Joe Torre and Tony La Russa might be the two greatest minds in baseball history. Who wins their chess game? And who will be more clutch: Manny Ramirez or Albert Pujols? The Cardinals look as if they have way better starting pitching in this short series. The only way the Dodgers win is if Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are unhittable and a quality Los Angeles bullpen can shut down a dynamic St. Louis offense.

Predictions: Dodgers will win: Hayes (5). Cardinals will win: Conlin (3), Donnellon (3), Hagen (4), Hofmann (4), Murphy (4).

- Mike Mazzeo