Breaking down the National League Championship Series

October 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Pitching

Both of these teams finished off their series early, meaning they could save their aces that would have probably pitched in game five. Because of that we are in store for the best pitching match-ups that these two teams can offer in this series, which will start in game one. The Giants will sent their ace, Madison Bumgarner, to the mound while the Cardinals will counter with Adam Wainwright.

Despite both being aces, these two starters have been very different down the stretch in 2014. Since August, Adam Wainwright has been fighting some dead-arm, resulting in a 5.17 ERA in the month. He appeared to figure it out in September with a 1.38 ERA and a 5-0 record. He was smacked around by the Dodgers in game one, raising the question of dead-arm again.

Madison Bumgarner was 6-2 from August on and has been the best starting pitcher in the playoffs so far. He has 16 innings pitched with an ERA of 1.13 and just 10 hits allowed. The Giants might have an advantage in game one, but if Wainwright can return to form the Cardinals will have a good answer.

The Cardinals have announced their rotation for the first four games. It will be the same as their first round. Lance Lynn, John Lackey and Shelby Miller will follow Wainwright.

The Giants have done exactly the opposite. Bumgardner is the only starter they have announced  for the series but he will be followed by Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong and Jake Peavy in some order. Hudson will be making the first Championship Series start of his 15 year career.

The Cardinals had a starters ERA 0.30 points better than the Giants this season, which they earned from their depth. The Cardinals should have an advantage after the first game.

As for the bullpens, the Giants had a distinct regular season advantage. Their bullpen ERA was 0.61 points better than that of the Cardinals. The Giants will bring depth from the bullpen, with four bullpen pitchers with ERAs below 3.15. Yhe Cardinals have just three.

The Cardinals will have an advantage in the closer department, as they have a playoff experienced closer in Trevor Rosenthal. However, the Giants might have the better closer in Santiago Casilla. Casilla is yet to allow a hit in three playoff appearances this season.

The most important pitcher in this series might be Jeremy Affeldt. The Cardinals’ left-handed hitters slugged five of the team’s seven home runs. Affeldt will have the task of trying to get Matt Carpenter, the hottest hitter in baseball, out in this series.

In his career, Carpenter is 3-for-5 with walk against Affeldt but each of the hits are singles. If Affeldt can keep Carpenter from piling up the extra-base hits, the Giant will probably be happy with his performance. Affeldt has also retired Matt Adams both times he faced him, Kolton Wong the one time he faced him and Jon Jay five of the six times he faced him.

Affeldt will be key in this series and if Bruce Bochy can keep him in good situations, he should be successful.

The pitching is a toss-up. The Giants have a slight edge in the bullpen and the Cardinals have a bit more rotational depth, so the deciding factor will likely be Adam Wainwright.