A riveting second day of the 2014 MLB playoffs saw both National League Division Series commence. The Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants went toe-to-toe, as Jake Peavy defeated Stephen Strasburg in a pitchers' duel. On the other side of the coin, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a shootout after Adam Wainwright and Clayton Kershaw were pelted in the middle innings.
All four teams are back in action Saturday.
Tim Hudson is set to take the mound for San Francisco, and he'll face Washington's Jordan Zimmermann. Lance Lynn will be starting for St. Louis in a duel against Zack Greinke. With so much talent set to take the mound yet again, we're sure in for another very compelling day of baseball.
As we wait and see how Day 3 unfolds, let's take a look at all pertinent viewing information and predict the outcome for each contest.
Live Stream: MLB.TV
Day 3 Predictions
San Francisco Giants at Washington Nationals
The Giants showed plenty of moxie on the road against a very well-rounded Nationals team that had the NL's co-leader in strikeouts on the mound Friday. San Francisco's bats were more active than the final score indicates, as they recorded eight hits off Strasburg en route to a 12-hit, three-run performance.
While Peavy had a great outing, San Francisco's bullpen was equally as impressive. Hunter Strickland came through in the clutch, recording a strikeout with the bases loaded. Afterward, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla blanked the Washington bats the rest of the way.
Peavy had some major praise for Strickland during a press conference, via MLB.com: "He saved the game. I want to make sure he understands that, even giving up the homers. He probably has a bad taste in his mouth. He saved the game with that big out against Desmond there."
One area where the Giants must improve going forward is converting with runners in scoring position—they went 3-for-15 in Game 1. The Nationals are no strangers to lighting up the scoreboard, finishing ninth in runs during the regular season. San Francisco can't expect to hold them to such a low number in each outing.
The Nationals showed they can hit the deep ball as well as anyone Friday; however, like the Giants, they weren't efficient with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-5 on the day. Bryce Harper was the only Washington player to have a multihit game, and this team needs a bigger impact from Ian Desmond to even things up.
Patrick Paolini Jr. of Fox5 tweeted exactly why the team needs a contribution from Desmond:
While the Giants appear to have the early advantage at the plate, Washington has a hotter pitcher set to take the mound Saturday. Zimmermann ended his regular season with a brilliant no-hitter, and he hasn't lost a decision since mid-July. On the other hand, Hudson didn't earn a single win in September, pitching six innings just once.
Expect Zimmermann to continue riding his momentum and the Nationals hitters to bring across enough runners to earn a close victory.
Prediction: Nationals 5, Giants 3
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
When a game features the likes of Wainwright and Kershaw, very little scoring is expected. Well, that wasn't the case at all during Game 1 of this series. Both pitchers were pelted much more than usual, and the end result was a 10-9 St. Louis win.
At first, Friday's game appeared to be well in hand for the Dodgers. Kershaw gave up two runs through six innings while Los Angeles consistently put runs on the board, bringing in a total of six through the fifth inning. Then, the wheels fell off.
After a couple of runs scored early in the seventh inning, Matt Carpenter—who homered earlier in the game—continued his surge, lining a double to deep center and clearing the bases, instantly giving the Cardinals the lead. Matt Holiday finished off the eight-run inning with a three-run jack.
The Dodgers did fight back, scoring two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. However, with the tying run at third base, Yasiel Puig struck out swinging to end the game. Kershaw got the loss, and he also lost this unblemished record, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Defeating Kershaw in that manner will surely give the Cardinals a great deal of momentum going forward.
Both teams are looking solid at the plate, so we can expect Saturday's showdown to be decided on the mound.
Greinke earned a greater amount of wins in September, claiming four in his five starts; however, he went at least six innings in just three of those games. Lynn's ERA in September was actually lower than Greinke's despite giving up two more runs. The biggest difference, though, was the fact that Lynn also gave up five home runs to Greinke's one.
Like Kershaw, Greinke hasn't been overly fantastic in the postseason, via Bleacher Report's Scott Miller:
These pitchers squared off once during the regular season—a contest on June 28 in Los Angeles. Lynn was pummeled by Los Angeles, giving up six earned runs in just two innings, but Greinke was sharp, lasting seven innings while allowing just one run.
We should expect more of the same Saturday when Greinke evens the series for the home team.
Prediction: Dodgers 6, Cardinals 4
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