Cardinals Announce Surprising Game 1 Starter for NLDS Against Braves

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to open the postseason with a real vote of confidence: by starting a pitcher with a 9-14 record.

As opposed to Dakota Hudson, Miles Mikolas will start game one of the National League Division Series in Atlanta on Thursday. We can explain away the lack of Jack Flaherty due to the necessity of him starting Game 162, but...Hudson? ...Postseason veteran Adam Wainwright, even?

This year, Mikolas is not only 9-14, but he also has a 4.16 ERA. The Cardinals could have theoretically chosen Flaherty or Hudson, both of whom have been excellent. Flaherty went 11-8 with a team-leading 2.75 ERA in nearly 200 innings of work, throwing 69 pitches in the season's final game in an effort to conserve himself a bit.

Hudson led the team with 16 wins and won nearly 70% of his games this season while sporting a 3.35 ERA. If Mike Shildt is insistent on staying away from Flaherty, Hudson would've been a pretty soild choice to pitch in Atlanta Thursday. You'll realize how wild this choice is when you look at what we thought the rotation would be.

Just to play devil's advocate here, Mikolas has actually pitched quite well as of late, so the Cardinals might be going with the hot hand despite the lack of popular opinion. Mikolas' last start was actually September 22, so he'll be pitching on 10 days' rest. Also, that start was seven and two-thirds innings long and the opposing Chicago Cubs scored two runs, and only one earned.

Hope and pray, St. Louis.