Charlie Klein
The Los Angeles Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row following a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals last night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Dodgers dominated the Cardinals in every way imaginable, making it look all too easy in their march to the league championship, holding the Cardinals to six runs over three games.
The most surprising element of the series is the Cardinals' inability to score runs on a Dodgers pitching staff that was drawing much criticism going into the playoffs. A lineup with a 3-4-5 of Ryan Ludwick, Albert Pujols, and Matt Holliday was thought to be a major driving force to the Cardinals playoff run in October. And yet the trio combined for only three runs batted in and a combined average of .266. How did the Dodgers manage to hold them so easily? Great pitching.
Starters Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw (who we highlighted earlier this year, article done by Puneet Singh), and Vicente Padilla combined for 17.1 innings at a 2.54 ERA. The Dodgers bullpen also contributed with great performances by closer Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill, and Ronald Belisario shutting down the anemic Red Birds offense.
The Dodgers look poised for a World Series appearance this fall. They match up well with either the Colorado Rockies or Philadelphia Phillies. Either opponent would be welcome for the Dodgers, who would love to exact revenge on the Phillies or face a familiar opponent in the Rockies. If, and this is a big if, the Dodgers manage to maintain their strong pitching and hitting, look out for them in a few weeks. The Lakers could have company in LA as world champions.
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