By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today

John Lackey’s 2015 home dominance continued on Friday night, as the postseason veteran kept the Cubs off the boards for 7 1/3 innings at Busch Stadium, leading the Cardinals to a 4-0 over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

Rookie outfielders Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty sparked a late-power surge for the redbirds with solo and two-run home runs in the eighth inning, contributing the key offense in the redbirds’ victory in the franchise’s first ever postseason matchup with the Cubs.

Making his ninth postseason start, Lackey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before shortstop Addison Russell led off the inning with a leadoff single. The owner of a 9-4 record with a 1.93 ERA at home this season, Lackey struck out five Cubs’ batters while walking just one prior to exiting with one out in the seventh inning after 86 pitches.

Lackey’s counterpart, former Boston teammate Jon Lester, also had a solid night, with just a few key mistakes proving costly for the left-hander. The redbirds jumped on Lester early, as a single by Matt Holliday in the first inning scored Stephen Piscotty, who had just smacked a ground-rule double in his first postseason at-bat. Lester settled in, though, and had a stretch where he retired 13 straight Cardinals batters before getting into trouble in the eighth.

A solo shot by Tommy Pham, pinch hitting in the eighth inning, added one to the Cardinals lead, and Stephen Piscotty tacked on a two run home run to expand the lead just after Lester left the game in favor of Pedro Strop. Piscotty became the fifth Cardinals rookie to homer in his first postseason game.

Protecting a four run lead, Trevor Rosenthal made things interesting in the ninth, allowing the tying run to reach the on deck circle before striking out Kris Bryant to end the ballgame with the final of 4-0.

More Notes: 

Matt Holliday tallied his 22nd career postseason hit, breaking a tie with Miguel Cabrera and Mark Teixeira for 13th place among active players… after a double in his first at-bat Friday night, Kolten Wong’s last eight postseason hits have all been of the extra-base variety…the Cardinals posted their 21st shutout in postseason history (4th in the Division Series), with the last occurring in Game 3 of the 2012 NLDS against the Nationals. — via team Game Notes

Up Next:

The two rival teams will get right back at it on Saturday, as the Cubs call on righty Kyle Hendricks (8-7, 3.95 ERA) in an attempt to even the series, while the redbirds counter with southpaw Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43 ERA).

Series Reset (all times central):

Game	Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Gm 1	Fri 10/9	5:45 pm	CHC 0 @ STL 4	TBS, KMOX
Gm 2	Sat 10/10	4:37 pm	CHC (Hendricks) @ STL (Garcia)	TBS, KMOX
Gm 3	Mon 10/12	5:07 or 3:37 pm	STL (Wacha) @ CHC (Arrieta)	TBS, KMOX
*Gm 4	Tues 10/13	3:37 or 7:07 pm	STL (Lynn) @ CHC (TBA)	TBS, KMOX
*Gm 5	Thurs 10/14	3:37 or 7:07 pm	CHC (TBA) @ STL (TBA)	TBS, KMOX

*if necessary

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NLDS Game 1 Preview: Lackey, Lester set to square off in NLDS Game 1 at Busch

After 2,362 games, the historic rivalry is about to reach a whole new level. For the first time in the history of the two franchises, the St. Louis Cardinals are set to meet the Chicago Cubs in postseason play when the two teams kick off the National League Division Series in St. Louis Friday night.

The series opener will be a battle of former Boston teammates, as the redbirds send postseason veteran John Lackey to the mound against lefty Jon Lester. Meanwhile, All-Star catcher Yadier Molina is in the Cardinals lineup for the first time since injuring his left thumb in a September 20 contest against the Cubs.

“Not a close decision at all,” manager Mike Matheny said on Molina getting the start behind the plate. “When Yadi’s healthy, he’s going to play… He looks right, and when he looks right, we want him on the field (link).”

NLDS Game 1: Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals

First Pitch: 5:45 pm CT

Broadcast: TBS, KMOX/Cardinals Radio Network, ESPN Radio

Pitching Matchup: LHP Jon Lester (11-12, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP John Lackey (13-10, 2.77 ERA)

Starting Lineups:

Cubs – Dexter Fowler CF, Kyle Schwarber RF, Kris Bryant 3B, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Starlin Castro 2B, Chris Coghlan LF, Addison Russel SS, David Ross C, Jon Lester SP

Cardinals – Matt Carpenter 3B, Stephen Piscotty 1B, Matt Holliday LF, Jason Heyward CF, Jhonny Peralta SS, Randal Grichuk RF, Yadier Molina C, Kolten Wong 2B, John Lackey SP

Game Notes: 

• In just over 31 innings pitched this season, Lester is 1-3 with a 2.59 ERA against the redbirds.
• Lester allowed 44 stolen bases during the regular season, and multiple Cardinals’ players, including Jason Heyward (11-24) and Jhonny Peralta (3 HR), have had some good success against him
• Acquired last year in a trade with the Boston Red Sox, Lackey has a 3.10 ERA in 43 starts since joining the Cardinals in mid-2014 and also has a 3.08 ERA in 117 career postseason innings.As impressive as the right-hander’s season was as a whole, he pitched especially well at Busch Stadium, posting a 9-4 record with a 1.93 ERA.
• Every one of Lackey’s 17 home starts this year was a quality one, and he pitched at least seven innings in all but two of them.
• In three starts against the Cubs this season, Lackey was 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA.
• Lackey boosts a 3.08 career postseason ERA, leads all active pitchers with 117 innings in the postseason, and with tonight’s start, he’ll lead all active pitchers with 19 playoff starts.

Recent News:

• Lackey gets the call for NLDS Game 1 at Busch against Cubs
• Molina, Wainwright make Cards’ NLDS roster; Matheny announces rotation behind Lackey
• Remaining NLDS schedule released; Maddon announces Cubs’ starters

Looking Ahead:

National League Divisional Series Schedule (all times central):

Game	Date	Time	Matchup	Starters	TV
Gm 1	Friday 10/9	5:45 pm	CHC @ STL	Lester vs Lackey	TBS
Gm 2	Saturday 10/10	4:37 pm	CHC @ STL	Hendricks vs Garcia	TBS
Gm 3	Monday 10/12	3:37 pm or **5:07 pm	STL @ CHC	Wacha vs Arrieta	TBS
	**Later start if at least 1 divisional series is over
*Gm 4	Tuesday 10/13	3:37 pm or **7:07 pm	STL @ CHC	Lynn vs TBA	TBS
	**Later start if LAD-NYM series is over
*Gm 5	Thursday 10/15	3:37 pm or **7:07 pm	CHC @ STL	TBA vs TBA	TBS
	**Later start if LAD-NYM series is over

*if necessary

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