Tough loss last night with the under as 3 runs were scored in the 9th inning and a rare run given up by the Reds closer., but we move onto Sunday. The Cardinals are just on a roll right now and have been playing playoff baseball for quite a while now while the Nationals have known they been in the playoffs for a while. Cardinals are ranked 3rd in hitting vs. LHP and face Gio Gonzalez here today who has a stiff task because the Cardinals have scored 6.53 runs per 9 vs. LHP at home this year. Gonzalez had 18 road starts and posted a solid 3.31 ERA. He was so much better at home and in those 18 starts he only faced 3 top 10 OPS LHP NL teams and in those games he posted a 5.29 ERA. He's definitely taken advantage of weak opponents.

Wainwright has a 2.27 ERA over his last 8 home starts and had a 6 inning 1 ER performance against the Nationals in his last start. Cards are 36-17 in their last 53 home games and 24-7 in their last 31 home games vs. the Nationals. The Nationals are the young team here and the Cardinals have a good mix of veteran leadership and young talent. I see the Cardinals taking game 1 here.

Where to find Freddy?