The Cardinals have a simple task: win or go, er, stay home. The Braves are sending out Dallas Keuchel on short rest in order to make that happen. I put the over/under on the TBS announcers saying “sinkerballers actually have an advantage on short rest” at three, and that’s the case even though I’m pretty sure that bit of conventional wisdom is BS.
No matter what Keuchel’s feeling, though, the Cardinals, who have scored one run in the past two games, have to score some runs. The Braves haven’t exactly been tearing up the pea patch themselves, but their runs have come at opportune times.
Here are the lineups, each of which is seeking to break out:
Braves
1. Ronald Acuna Jr. (R) CF
2. Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
3. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
4. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B
5. Nick Markakis (L) LF
6. Matt Joyce (L) RF
7. Brian McCann (L) C
8. Dansby Swanson (R) SS
9. Dallas Keuchel (L) P
Cardinals
1. Dexter Fowler (S) CF
2. Kolten Wong (L) 2B
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
4. Marcell Ozuna (R) LF
5. Yadier Molina (R) C
6. Matt Carpenter (L) 3B
7. Tommy Edman (S) RF
8. Paul DeJong (R) SS
9. Dakota Hudson (R) P
