Dodgers to play Cardinals again in division matchup

The Dodgers will face St. Louis in the National League Division Series, the ninth time they will appear in the NLDS and the third time they will face the Cardinals. Here’s how they fared before:

1981

Dodgers 3, Houston 2

In the first NLDS — held because the season was split by a players strike — the Dodgers rallied from a 2-0 series deficit to win the final three games at Dodger Stadium. Jerry Reuss outpitched Nolan Ryan, 4-0, in Game 5. Steve Garvey was the batting star, hitting .368 with two home runs.

1995

Cincinnati 3, Dodgers 0

The Reds outclassed the Dodgers, outscoring them 22-7. The lone bright spot was Eric Karros, who had two home runs in Game 2.

1996

Atlanta 3, Dodgers 0

The Dodgers wasted a strong pitching effort by Ramon Martinez in Game 1 when reliever Antonio Osuna gave up a home run to Javy Lopez in the 10th inning of a 2-1 Braves victory. Ismael Valdez and Hideo Nomo were the losing pitchers in Games 2 and 3.

2004

St. Louis 3, Dodgers 1

After failing to win a playoff game since 1988, the Dodgers finally broke through against the Cardinals when Jose Lima pitched a five-hit shutout in Game 3.

2006

New York 3, Dodgers 0

The tone for the series was set in Game 1, when Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew were thrown out at the plate on the same play — after a double by Russell Martin — in a game the Dodgers lost, 6-5.

2008

Dodgers 3, Chicago 0

The Dodgers finally won a division series, with the key blow coming in Game 1, when James Loney hit a grand slam to center field in the fifth inning. The Dodgers never trailed in any game after that.

2009

Dodgers 3, St. Louis 0

The Dodgers rallied with two runs in the ninth of a 3-2 Game 2 victory, when Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday lost a two-out liner hit by Loney in the lights and dropped the ball for an error.

2013

Dodgers 3, Atlanta 1

After splitting the first two games in Atlanta, the Dodgers came home and routed the Braves, 13-6, behind homers from Juan Uribe and Carl Crawford, then won the series with a 4-3 Game 4 victory. Crawford hit two homers in Game 4, but the key blow was Uribe’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.

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