While the Minnesota Twins enjoy their hard fought victory over the Detroit Tigers in the 163rd game of the season, the start of the 2009 MLB playoff divisional series is less than 15 hours away. Here are the National League series match-ups and who should prevail to advance to the championship series.
Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The upstart Rockies will be taking on the 2008 World Series champion Phillies in this five game series that is schedule to begin on Wednesday.
Though the Phillies’ offense has been the key to their success during the season, they will need to rely upon their starting pitching in the playoffs. The series will open with Cliff Lee pitching in game one, followed by Cole Hamels in game two. If these two are on their game, this series will be over by the time it heads to Colorado.
When the series begins, the Rockies will already be behind the eight ball with the loss of sixteen game winner Jorge De La Rosa. They will need Ubaldo Jiminez to step up and live up to his potential. Since August, Jiminez has posted a 6-3 record with a 2.85 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 82 innings of work
If the Rockies can keep the games close in the late innings, they will have a chance to rough up Phillies closer Brad Lidge, who has blown 11 saves this year. In the month of September Lidge posted a 9.00 ERA while allowing 16 hits in 9 innings of work.
Though the Rockies have moxie, the Phillies offense, led by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley will be enough to close this series out in three games and move on to the next round.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
One of the more intriguing 2009 playoff divisional series will feature two of the most feared hitters in the game, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When it comes to the Cardinals, there is no denying the impact Pujols has on the team’s success. Since the arrival of Matt Holiday, his production continued to increase. In September, Pujols hit .375 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI’s while striking out only 8 times in 96 plate appearances.
If the Cardinals want to succeed they will need Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to continue pitching like they did in the regular season. In September the two have combined for a 5–2 record with a 2.95 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 70 innings of work.
In 2008 the Dodgers were powered by the arrival of Ramirez who seemingly took the team on his back. With Ramirez slumping during the final weeks of the season, the team will be looking for someone else to step up. The problem is other potent bats like Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have also been in major September slumps.
Manager Joe Torre will need players like veteran third baseman Casey Blake to provide enough spark to get the offense back on track for the Dodgers.
Both teams have some offensive pop, but the pitching staff of the Cardinals will be enough for the team to come out on top in a tough five game series.
