MLB Playoffs: The NCLS and ALCS continue on Tuesday with critical games for the road teams. The St. Louis Cardinals visit the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the NLCS at 4:07 pm Eastern on FS1 while the Baltimore Orioles visit the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 of the ALCS at 8:07 pm Eastern on TBS. Here is a look at the two matchups and MLB Playoff picks.
NLCS Game 3 – St. Louis at San Francisco
John Lackey gets the start for the Cardinals in this one. He has thrown more playoff innings than any other active pitcher, allowing three earned runs or less in 14 of his 17 career playoff starts. Over his past three starts he has allowed four earned runs and 16 hits. He has thrown 14 innings in the past decade against the Giants with a 1-1 record and a 2.57 ERA.
Game Notes
The Cardinals and Giants have split their last ten meetings in San Francisco with two of the last three going under. They played one series this season in SF with the Cardinals winning two of three.
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ALCS Game 4 – Baltimore at Kansas City
The Orioles will be going with Miguel Gonzalez who makes his second career playoff start as he started once in 2012 when he held the Yankees to one run in seven innings. Gonzalez is 2-1 in his last three starts overall with a 3.24 ERA. He has a 1-2 career mark against the Royals with a 4.82 ERA.
Jason Vargas should be getting the ball for the Royals on Tuesday. He didn’t pitch well down the stretch but he was better against the Angels in the ALDS. He is 2-3 with a 1.94 ERA in eight career starts vs. Baltimore.
Game Notes
Before Game 3 of this series in KC the teams had split their last ten meetings in Kansas City with three of the last four going over. They met for a four-game series back in May in KC with each team winning twice with three of the four going under.
MLB Playoff Picks
We’ll back both of the road teams on Tuesday night.
