The St. Louis Cardinals look to make another run through the playoffs as they visit the Atlanta Braves for the first ever one game National League Wildcard Playoff Game.

The St, Louis Cardinals came on strong over the last few months of the season and while they hadn’t locked up a spot in the post season until a few days left in the season, they controlled their own destiny and sealed the deal.  The Cardinals finished the season winning seven of their last 10 games but they had a losing record on the road for the season at 38-43. As a team the Cardinals hit .271 with Yadier Molina at .315, Allen Craig at .207, and Jon Jay at .305. As a team the Cardinals pitching staff has an ERA of 3.71 with the starters at 3.62 and the bullpen at 3.90. For this one game playoff St. Louis starts Kyle Lohse who won his last two decisions but look for the Cards to go through as many pitchers as they feel the need to keep them in this game. For the season Lohse has allowed 192 hits and 67 earned runs while striking out 143 over 211 innings with a 2.86 ERA.

Last season the Atlanta Braves let their post season hopes slip away over the final weeks of the season, this year the Braves have a chance in one game to extend their season even further. The Braves were the top seed in the Wildcard and wrapped up their playoff spot long ago though they were unable to catch the Washington Nationals in the NL East standings. The Braves finished the season winning seven of their last 10 games and they were 48-33 at home this season. As a team the Braves hit .247 with Martin Prado at .301, Chipper Jones at .287, and Michael Bourn at .274. As a team the Braves pitching staff has an ERA of 3.42 with the starters at 3.75 and the bullpen at 2.76. For this win or they are out game Atlanta starts Kris Medlen who has simply been outstanding this season. For the year Medlen has allowed 103 hits and 24 earned runs while striking out 120 over 138 innings of work for a 1.57 ERA and of course the Braves also have Craig Kimbrel as a closer who many feel is a Cy Young contender.

St. Louis is 4-1 in their last five road games, 5-2 in their last seven games against a team with a winning record, 3-10 in their last 13 road games against a team with a winning home record, and 5-2 in Lohse’s last seven starts against a team with a winning record. Atlanta is 9-1 in their last 10 games as a home favorite, 8-3 in their last 11 games overall, 1-5 in their last six playoff games, and 12-0 in Medlen’s last 12 starts as a home favorite. The Braves won five of the six meetings of these two teams this year.

Look for the Cardinals to empty the bullpen to keep this one low scoring as Medlen doesn’t allow much so for my free pick I am going to go with the under in a very tactical game. My stronger play is on the winning side and I will post that in the Premium Area as well as making the pick available for individual purchase.