MLB

At the ripe old age of 22, Michael Wacha won the 2013 NLCS after the St. Louis Cardinals' 9-0 Game 6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, via MLB.

According to SportsCenter, he's just the second rookie pitcher to earn the honor.

The Dodgers' magical season ended with an ugly 9-0 loss versus the Cardinals at the hands of rookie pitcher and NLCS MVP Michael Wacha, who tossed 13.2 scoreless innings while defeating ace Clayton Kershaw for the second time in the series. 

For much of the 2013 season, Clayton Kershaw was the foundation that held the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff together. Unfortunately, Kershaw picked the worst possible time to start showing cracks.

The St. Louis Cardinals offense pounded Kershaw for seven runs and Michael Wacha turned in yet another stellar performance, as the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers, 9-0, to advance to their second World Series in three seasons.

All the Yasiel Puig critics are already getting started on their "I told you so" columns. The phenom's poor defensive decisions in Friday night's third inning allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to build a 4-0 lead in Game 6 of the NLCS.

Carlos Beltran is doing it with his bat and his glove during Game 6. 

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It was a rough third inning for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw gave up four runs in the inning, matching his total from his first 21 innings this postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored an early victory in Game 6 of the NLCS when Scott Van Slyke held firm and refused to budge before St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly finally broke his gaze during a tense pregame standoff.

After the national anthem, both men remained standing on the field, transfixed on one another. Exactly why they chose to do so remains up in the air.

Lesson learned in St. Louis on Friday prior to Game 6 of the NLCS.

If you make signs mocking Dodgers stars Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez, they will autograph them for you.  

Thanks to FTW for the find. 

It's understandable that even the best players go through their struggles at the plate, but did they really have to choose now?

Why can't everybody be like Justin Verlander? 2013 was actually one of his down years, leading some to believe he couldn't be counted upon as the ace of the Detroit Tigers pitching staff come playoff time.

Those fears have been unwarranted, as Verlander has given up just a single run in 23 postseason innings, striking out at least 10 batters in each of his three starts.

Going into the final two games of the St. Louis Cardinals-Los Angeles Dodgers matchup in the National League Championship Series, all the talk has centered on starting pitching.