ST. LOUIS -- The schedule is out and the matchup set. The Cardinals will open defense of their NL title against the team they beat in last year's National League Championship Series, the Dodgers.
There will be numerous differences this time around:
-- The Los Angeles Dodgers own home-field advantage, with Games 1 and 2 scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Dodger Stadium. This is not good for the Cardinals, who went 39-42 on the road and lost seven of their past nine series outside of Busch Stadium.
-- This will be a best-of-five series, instead of a best of seven. With their one-two pitching punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, beating the Dodgers in a five-game series poses a more daunting challenge than a seven-game series.
-- The Cardinals could go without a start from Michael Wacha, who was the star of last year's series after winning Game 2 and the decisive Game 6 without allowing a run in either. Wacha's status figures to be a hot topic this week as he remains on the comeback trail after missing more than two months with a shoulder reaction. The club could put him in the bullpen, give him a start ahead of Shelby Miller or even leave him off the roster for the first round.
-- The Dodgers have an even larger payroll this time, just more than $240 million. What that means is pressure. From part-owner Magic Johnson to Kershaw, the Dodgers have not been bashful about their 2014 expectations: Anything less the World Series will be a disappointment.
-- This time, the Cardinals will come in as the offensive underdog. They are the only NL playoff team that scored fewer runs this season than they did last and, in the Dodgers, they will be facing a team that outscored them 718-619 for the season. Los Angeles led the NL in scoring after the All-Star break as Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp shouldered the load.
-- The Dodgers won the season series, 4-3, and dominated the Cardinals' bats when taking three out of four in LA. Last year, the Dodgers won three of four at Busch while the Cardinals took two of three in LA. This year, the Cardinals were shut out twice at Dodger Stadium in June and held to three and one runs in the other games. At Busch Stadium right after the All-Star break, the Cardinals took two of three in about as tight a series as they played all season -- winning 3-2 and 4-2 and losing 4-3.
-- Last year, Mark Ellis started at second base for the Dodgers. This year, he is a backup on the Cardinals who might not even make the 25-man roster.
-- Perhaps most important, Kershaw seems to be an even better pitcher this season than last. He finished 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA and if he doesn't win the Cy Young by a unanimous vote, it will be a surprise. The Cardinals, of course, have beaten Kershaw before. They are the only team in the past two seasons that Kershaw has pitched against that he doesn't have a winning record against. Including the postseason, he is 1-4 with a 3.89 ERA in six starts against St. Louis.
Despite the differences, you can still expect a close series. The teams have split their past 20 meetings, and 12 of the games have been decided by one or two runs.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
