Cardinals vs Braves NLDS Series Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves will square off in the NLDS beginning Thursday in what could very well be the most entertaining first-round series.

These two teams went to battle back in May, with the Braves winning the season series 4-2. However, the Redbirds are a much different squad now then they were in the second month of the season, as they posted a 47-27 record in the second half that led to an NL Central title.

Atlanta clinched the NL East back on Sept. 20, so as you can imagine, they've been sleepwalking a bit over the final seven games of the season. They've also been dealing with injuries to key players (Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman) that could hurt them once this series starts.

As for the Cards, since the All-Star break they rank second in baseball with a 3.39 ERA, whereas the Braves rank just 11th with a 4.20 ERA.

While St. Louis has the edge in the pitching department, we'll see what they can do against one of the best offenses in the game, as Atlanta has scored the seventh-most runs (855) and own the seventh-best OPS (.789) in baseball, while the Cardinals are in the bottom half in both categories.

There's no doubt the Cardinals have the momentum entering the series, as the Braves finished the season 8-11, but we know this Atlanta team can get hot and steamroll the opposition. Look for an entertaining, back-and-forth matchup in this NLDS showdown.