Jon will have the Dodgers game thread, I’m pretty sure, so this is a post for those who want to discuss the Cardinals at Pirates game at 10:30 AM HST, 1:30 PM Pacific, 4:30 PM ET on TBS.

If pitchers were the only criteria, the Pirates would seem to have a slight edge. They’re starting Francisco Liriano:

The veteran lefty has gone 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA against the Cardinals in three starts this year, spinning eight scoreless innings against them his last time facing them on Aug. 30. Overall, Liriano has been masterful at home, going 8-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 11 starts at PNC Park.

But wait!

The Cardinals are countering with [Joe] Kelly, who went 10-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 15 outings since joining the rotation July 6. He made consecutive starts against the Pirates at the beginning of September, winning both by pitching six innings and allowing just one run.

Go Pirates!

The preliminary bouts are over, with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh prevailing over Cleveland and Cincinnati respectively. Now the Division Series games begin.

First, on Thursday, Pittsburgh at St. Louis at 5:00PM ET, 2:00PM PT, 11:00AM HST. The Pirates start A.J. Burnett and the Cards pitch Adam Wainwright.

Okay, okay. The more important game of the two is Los Angeles at Atlanta at 8:30PM ET, 5:30PM PT, 2:30PM HST. The Dodgers start Clayton Kershaw and the Braves start Kris Mendel Medlen. One hopes that Kershaw throws his usual selection of fastballs, sliders and curves well enough to win, and that Mendel Medlen doesn’t throw peas like those his namesake Gregor once studied. The Dodgers need to score runs for Kershaw, something they’ve frequently had trouble doing. In fact, the Dodgers were shut out three times in games Kershaw started. All told, in 33 starts he gave up 55 runs, 48 earned, and he lost nine games. He could have sued for non-support.

Addendum: Both games are on TBS.