The long regular season wrapped up on Sunday, and after 162 games the red-hot St Louis Cardinals will travel to LA to take on the 106 win Dodgers in the win or go home Wild Card Game. These two storied organizations have met in the playoffs before, 5 times in-fact, with the Cardinals winning 4 of those battles. For Dodgers fans, there are only bad memories associated with the Cardinals in the playoffs; they are hoping to avoid more such dour outcomes when the two square up tomorrow.

In 1985, the Dodgers and Cardinals met in the National League Championship Series with a trip to the World Series on the Line. The Dodgers pitching, led by Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, put the Dodgers ahead 2 games to 0 in the series. That would be it for the Dodgers as the Cardinals’ offense, led by speedsters Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee, woke up and the next three games. Then in game six, with a 5-3 lead and two outs in the ninth innings, Dodgers skipper, Tommy Lasorda, elected to have reliever Tom Niedenfuer pitch to Jack Clark, who promptly drilled a three-run home run into the left field stands to win the pennant and advance to the World Series. 

Almost 20 years later, the two teams matched up again, this time in the best of five National League Division Series in 2004. The Cardinals beat up on Dodgers pitching by winning each of the first two games with a score of 8-3. In game three, Jose Lima threw a complete game five-hit shutout which gave the Dodgers their first playoff win since winning the 1988 World Series. Albert Pujols, then with the Cardinals, put the finishing touches on the series with a 3-run home run in game 4 to end the series.

The Dodgers got their revenge in 2009 when the two teams met again in the NLDS. The Boys in Blue got clutch home runs from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to win games 1 and 3. They were also on the good end of a ball being lost in the lights to help steal game two in their sweep of St Louis.

A deflated Clayton Kershaw walks off the mound in 2013 after going just 4 innings the blowout series finale.

In 2013 the Dodgers had their best team since 1988. The offense was powered by a top-10 MVP finalist Hanley Ramirez, along with Adrián González, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig. The pitching staff consisted of two Cy Young Award winners in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke with Hyun-Jin Ryu rounding out their big three. It was feeling like this was the year. But the series started off with a disaster. Joe Kelly, now with the Dodgers, started game 1 for the Cardinals and just three batters into the game drilled Hanley Ramirez in the ribs with a 95 mph fastball, breaking his rib. Ramirez was on fire entering the series; in the NLDS he hit .500 going 8 for 16 with 4 doubles, 1 home run, and 6 RBIs. He played the rest of the series injured, hitting .133 just 2 for 15 with 1 RBI. Zack Greinke pitched 8 two run innings, but the Dodgers would lose in 13 innings by a score of 3-2. Game 2 was a nail biter, as Michael Wacha of the Cardinals allowed no runs in 6.2 innings pitched as the Dodgers were held scoreless on 5 hits. Clayton Kershaw, in one of his better postseason outings,  allowed just 1 unearned run, but the Dodgers still lost 1-0. The Dodgers and Cardinals traded wins in games three, four, and five which set up game six in St Louis with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. It turned out to be a colossal blowout win for the Cardinals as Kershaw couldn’t get out of the 5th inning: he went 4+ allowing 7 earned runs on 10 hits. The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 9-0 and would go on to lose the Red Sox in the World Series.

In 2014 the two teams met again, this time in the NLDS. The Dodgers had a similar team with a healthy Matt Kemp and the Cy Young and MVP winner in Clayton Kershaw leading the squad. In Game 1 in LA, the Dodgers had a sizable 6-2 heading into the seventh after jumping all over Cardinals’ starter Adam Wainwright early. The floodgates opened as the Redbirds hit everything Kershaw threw their way as they scored 8 runs in the seventh. The Dodgers wound up losing 10-9. Matt Kemp was the hero in game 2, hitting the winning home run in the 8th inning. In game 3 the Dodgers bullpen gave up a late home run to Kolten Wong, putting them down 2-1 in the series with Kershaw pitching game 4. It was a tense game in St Louis; the Dodgers scored 2 runs in the 6th to break a scoreless tie. Kershaw had allowed just 1 hit while striking out 9 Cardinals entering the seventh. Manager Don Mattingly elected to let him pitch the seventh. Dodgers fans know what happened next:

Base hit. Base hit. Home run. Hands on the knees. The Dodgers were eliminated.

Max Scherzer of the Dodgers will face off against Adam Wainwright in this years National League Wild Card Game.

In 2021, the two teams will square off in a one game playoff in the NL Wild Card Game. The long time Cardinal pitcher, Adam Wainwright, will face newly acquired hurler Max Scherzer in what should be an incredible game. The Cardinals come in red hot winning 21 of their last 25 games including 17 straight at one point. The Dodgers are also hot, winning 18 of their last 21 games including closing the season on a 7 game win streak. Both teams have streaks on the line, the Cardinals have won their last 11 road games and their last 8 games started by Wainwright. The Dodgers have won their last 15 home games, and all 11 of Max Scherzer’s starts for the Dodgers (including September 6 in St Louis). The Dodgers will be without their all-star slugger Max Muncy, however, who injured his elbow in the final game of the season. The Dodgers will have to turn to their bench in this crucial game. It all comes down to this one game. Can the Dodgers gain some revenge against the franchise from St. Louis that has broken their hearts so many times in the playoffs? Or will they once again come face to face with the ghosts of postseason past?

References

• baseballreference.com

• latimes.com

• truebluela.com

• nytimes.com