National League Championship Series
Game 3 - Series tied 1-1
First pitch: Tuesday, 4:05 p.m. ET
Line: San Francisco -125, St. Louis +115, Total: 7

After splitting two games at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals and Giants head west to San Francisco for Game 3 of the NLCS on Tuesday afternoon.

After being shut down in a 3-0 loss in Game 1, St. Louis evened up the series on Sunday night with a 5-4 victory. The win was dramatic, as at least one team scored a run in each of the final seven innings capped by a walk-off homer from 2B Kolten Wong. The Cardinals were a mere 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the win while hitting four homers, including yet another one from 3B Matt Carpenter, who already has four long balls in six postseason games after hitting eight in the regular season (595 at-bats). The Giants were hoping to build off their 3-0 shutout in the first game of this series, as they tallied 10 hits on Sunday night, but could not hold off a late run from the resilient Redbirds. San Francisco was 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position over the course of the contest, as C Buster Posey was held hitless (0-for-4) for the first time in these playoffs. A pair of veterans will take the mound on Tuesday as RHP John Lackey (1-0, 1.29 ERA) of the Cardinals goes head-to-head with Giants RHP Tim Hudson (0-0, 1.23 ERA). As the road team this year, St. Louis has gone 40-43 (.482, 13th in majors) while San Francisco is 46-37 (.554, T-12 in MLB) when playing its games by the bay. These two clubs are dead even (14-14) against each other over the past three seasons while also splitting their 12 contests (6-6) at AT&T Park in that time. Trends show that the Cardinals are a whopping 21-7 (.750) after batting .240 or worse in their previous 15-game span this year, while the Giants love playing in the postseason with a 16-7 record (.696) in October over the past three years. Injuries could hurt St. Louis in this one as C Yadier Molina (oblique) is listed as doubtful, while both OF Angel Pagan (back) and 2B Marco Scutaro (back) are unavailable for the rest of the season.

John Lackey was an important addition for the Cardinals midseason as he has posted an ERA below 3.85 in seven of his past nine seasons. In 2014, he struck out 7.5 batters per nine innings while showing some great control (2.1 BB/9), but was just 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in his 10 starts with St. Louis. One of the main reasons the Redbirds wanted him as part of their ballclub was his postseason success, as he is 7-5 with a 2.92 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 20 playoff games (17 starts) while pitching amazing (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 8 K's) in earning a win in the NLDS against the Dodgers. In his career against the Giants, Lackey is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, while having a 12:2 K/BB ratio in his 14 frames. No player on San Francisco’s NLCS roster has more than six at-bats against the veteran, while 3B Pablo Sandoval, OF Hunter Pence and OF Michael Morse have combined to go 3-for-12 with four strikeouts in the matchup. The bullpen for the Cardinals is 29-24 (.547) this year with a 3.61 ERA (1.23 WHIP) while successfully saving 58-of-76 (76%) games. Closer Trevor Rosenthal (4.91 ERA, 3 saves) blew the save on Sunday night after a fairly unspectacular season in which he boasted a 1.41 WHIP and walked 5.4 batters per nine innings.

Tim Hudson has been one of the more consistent starters in baseball, pitching to an ERA under 4.00 in 13 of his past 14 seasons while providing another solid campaign in 2014 (3.57 ERA). He had a career-low 1.6 BB/9 this year while striking out a mere 5.7 batters per nine and surrendered only 15 homers in his 189.1 innings on the mound (0.71 HR/9). Hudson was amazing in his start against the Nationals, getting a no-decision after going 7.1 frames while allowing a single run on seven hits with eight strikeouts (0 walks). Overall in his playoff career (11 games, 10 starts), he is 1-3 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, and has not given up a homer since 2003 when he was with the Athletics. Against the Cardinals, Hudson is 4-4 (6-7 team record) with a brutal 5.26 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, but did shut them out for seven innings (3 H, 2 BB, 6 K's) when he last faced them on June 1. OF Matt Holliday (9-for-26, 1 double, 5 RBI) has done well when facing Hudson in his career, while 1B Matt Adams, 2B Mark Ellis, SS Jhonny Peralta and 2B Kolten Wong are a combined 1-for-15 (.067) against the veteran. San Francisco’s relievers have been strong all season, going 34-15 (.694) with a 2.99 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, while going 50-for-69 (73%) in save chances. Closer Santiago Casilla (0.00 ERA, 3 saves) has not allowed a hit while striking out two in his four innings so far in this postseason.