By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today
With Carlos Martinez out for the season and Adam Wainwright pitching out of the bullpen, the Cardinals will send a postseason veteran to the mound when they open up the National League Division Series against the Cubs in St. Louis on Friday.
Manager Mike Matheny announced Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium that John Lackey, the owner of a career-best 2.77 ERA over 218 innings this season, will start in Game 1 against the Cubs, who defeated the Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday night.
[Related: Cubs blank Pirates in Wild Card Game, set to face Cards in postseason for first time]
“He’s been as consistent as anybody in the league,” Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The fact he’s been able to be on this stage, has had success on this stage, there are so many different things that he’s brought to this club this year that makes it a pretty obvious choice.”
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.
“The numbers are good at home,” the manager said. “Not bad on the road (either). He’s just had a strong season. He’s a guy that we like. The fact that we needed a veteran presence to come in and lead this staff, especially when (Adam Wainwright) went down, and John Lackey has been that guy.”
As MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch points out, this will be the fifth time in his career that Lackey gets the nod to start Game 1 of a postseason series.
“He’s been the constant, every-five-days, deep-in-the-game, save-the-bullpen guy you could absolutely count on every time,” Adam Wainwright said. “He’s just been the model of consistency. That’s who you want out there.”
STL Baseball Today NLDS Coverage:
Molina, Wainwright make Cards’ NLDS roster; Matheny announces rotation behind Lackey
Remaining NLDS schedule released; Maddon announces Cubs’ starters
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Feature image used under Creative Commons by Arturo Pardavila III. No changes made. Image license.
