It’s said that a postseason series doesn’t start until the home team loses.  It seems we will have to wait until game four of the National League Championship Series to see if that happens.  So far, both the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers are doing exactly what they are supposed to; win at home. 

The Dodgers’ offense finally came alive in game three, breaking a 13-inning scoreless streak to cut the NLCS deficit to 2-1.  Speaking of breaking out, Dodgers’ sparkplug, Yasiel Puig, finally did some damage at the plate going 2-for-3 with a triple and a run batted in.  He is still only 2-for-13 in the series with seven strikeouts, but it looks like this game could get him going in the right direction heading into game four. 

Game 4 in Los Angeles is scheduled to pit Lance Lynn against Ricky Nolasco.  Lynn earned the victory for the Cardinals in game one by pitching two scoreless innings before Carlos Beltran’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th inning.  In his only start against the Dodgers in the regular season, Lynn tossed six scoreless innings while giving up only two hits on his way to nine strikeouts and a victory for the Cardinals.  St. Louis will need another good outing from the 26 year old to steal one from the Dodgers at home in game four. 

The Dodgers have the 30-year-old right hander Nolasco scheduled to start Game 4, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manager Don Mattingly put Zack Greinke on the hill coming off only three days of rest.  Both managers will do anything it takes to get an edge in this series, and micro-managing starting pitchers is no exception.  However, assuming Nolasco does take the mound, he has a good shot at giving the Dodgers a much needed quality start.  In two starts against the Cardinals during the regular season, he allowed only one earned run over 12 innings of work, on his way to two victories. 

Regardless of who takes the mound for the Dodgers, the Cardinals need to find a way to string together base-hits.  In the first three games of the NLCS, they have managed only 13 hits in 31 innings at the plate.  Averaging 0.4 hits per inning isn’t going to get it done for the rest of this series in my opinion, especially with Greinke and Clayton Kershaw scheduled to pitch again in games five and six respectively. 

The Cardinals also looked sloppy on the bases and in the field in game three.  Daniel Descalso was doubled-off second base with nobody out and runners on first and second.  That play definitely helped Hyun-Jin Ryu secure the all-important shutdown inning after the Dodgers scored two in the bottom of the fourth.  To cap off the Cardinals’ struggles, center fielder Jon Jay misplayed three balls in the outfield.

With two games left at Dodger Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals need to sure up the little things and play fundamental baseball if they want to clinch the series in Los Angeles, or head back home with a series lead at the very least.