OC Dooley
Cardinals -120
One can argue that St. Louis rookie pitcher Joe Kelly should already be named MVP of this series as it was back in game-one when he nailed Dodgers slugger Hanley Ramirez in the side which eventually led to a diagnosis of a broken rib. While Ramirez WILL be in tonight’s starting lineup he is far from 100% which is arguably a fatal blow to a Los Angeles contingent that has had to deal with a myriad of injuries this season including star outfielder Matt Kemp. Most reading this analysis remember when the Dodgers were 12 games below the .500 mark and sitting in the National League West division cellar before the team went on an epic 42-8 tear. That memorable fifty-game run coincided with the major league callup of fiery rookie Yasiel Puig and the return to health of shortstop Hanley Ramirez. With Ramirez impaired all the pressure has fallen on the shoulders of a rookie and Puig has responded going 0-for-10 in the NLCS while being struck out six different times. One of the reasons why St. Louis ended up with the best overall regular season record in the National League had to do with “clutch” hitting as the team led all of baseball with runners-in-scoring position. While a very deep St. Louis roster has literally “out lasted” Los Angeles in the initial two games of this series the exact opposite has been true of a Dodgers offense that is 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. For the entire season to date when facing an “inpatient” offense whose hitters draw “three or less” walks per game, the ace of the St. Louis rotation Adam Wainwright has gone a spectacular “17-4”. In addition Wainwright is UNDEFEATED ON THE ROAD this campaign (8-0) when off consecutive assignments where he issued “one or less” walks each time