The Washington Nationals, who boasted the best record in MLB this season, will look to bounce back against the St. Louis Cardinals after falling 12-4 on the road in Game 2 Monday. 

Wednesday's pitching matchup couldn't be more interesting. On one hand you have St. Louis running out a veteran that has pitched a total of three MLB games in the last calendar year. On the other hand, Washington is putting their balls in the backet that is the enigmatic, but talented Edwin Jackson. 

Let's take a look at what Game 3 of this NLDS matchup has to offer. 

The sample size obviously isn't too much as it relates to Carpenter this season. He has only started three games since returning from injury and is just now building up his arm strength. What a more opportunistic time for the former All-Star to show up and pitch his Cardinals to a victory in an important Game 3 on the road in Washington. 

While we can't look too much into 2012 as a guide to see where Carpenter matches up against the Nationals, we can obviously go a bit further back considering the body of work he has built up in an extensive MLB career. 

Carpenter boats a better winning percentage (.628) on the road than he does at home (.581) throughout his career. This is to be expected considering the toughness upon which he takes the hill. However, to be on the winning side of the scorecard 63 percent of the time on the road is pretty damn impressive. 

He has yet to face Bryce Harper, who is just 1-for-10 thus far in this series. You can expect Carpenter to work him inside and push the young hitter off the plate. The veteran pitcher isn't going to be shown up in a postseason game by the likes of Harper....That much I can guarantee. If Harper is going to beat Carpenter, it is going to be with his best stuff. 

Meanwhile, Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth have had the most success against Carpenter in their careers. They are a combined 8-for-13 with five runs batted in. Werth is 2-for-9 in the series, while Desmond is batting a robust .500 in eight at-bats. Look for Washington to exploit those advantages as much as they can. 

Jackson goes up against his former team here after helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series last season. While not a great pitcher by any stretch of the imagination, Jackson is what you would call a bulldog. He averaged over six innings per start this season and possesses a decent 1.22 WHIP. Jackson was much stronger pitching in D.C. than he was on the road. This should benefit Washington today. 

However, the veteran recorded a 7.71 ERA against the Cardinals this season, giving up up 16 base-runners in just 9 1/3 innings. Definitely not a good sign if you ask me, or anyone with the slightest knowledge about baseball. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina has owned Jackson in his career, going a combined 8-for-12 with two homers. Meanwhile, sluggers Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran, in the middle of the Cardinals order, are a combined 6-for-28 against Jackson.