St. Louis @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 12, 2014 ) San Francisco 4, St. Louis 5

The St. Louis Cardinals will be without standout catcher Yadier Molina when the scene shifts to San Francisco for Wednesday’s Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. Kolten Wong’s ninth-inning homer to end Sunday’s Game 2 allowed the Cardinals to even the series at one win apiece, but St. Louis lost Molina to an oblique injury earlier in the contest. The injury could sideline the six-time All-Star for the rest of the postseason.

The Cardinals will be attempting to make it through the rest of the series with catchers Tony Cruz and A.J. Pierzynski, which represents a huge drop-off from Molina. “It stinks,’ Giants catcher Buster Posey said of Molina’s injury. “You hate to see anybody go down, especially a guy like him that means so much to their team. It’s too bad.” Wong one was of four St. Louis players to hit homers in Sunday’s 5-4 win, joining Matt Carpenter, Oscar Taveras and Matt Adams.

TV: 4:07 p.m. ET, FS1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH John Lackey (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Hudson (0-0, 1.23)

Lackey was acquired due to his postseason experience, and manager Mike Matheny is expecting he will rise to the occasion. “Every time he was on the mound, he is one of those guys that is going to come into a big situation and into a hostile environment, and we love what San Francisco brings,” Matheny told reporters. “The excitement they bring, and the city is fired up for the matchup.” Lackey is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in two career starts against San Francisco.

Hudson lost his final four starts of the regular season before rebounding with a strong outing against Washington in the NL Divisional Series, as he gave up one run and seven hits over 7 1/3 innings in a no-decision. The 39-year-old veteran merely was average at home during the regular season, going 5-5 with a 3.94 ERA in 14 starts. Hudson is 4-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 13 career outings against St. Louis but defeated the Cardinals this year when he gave up three hits over seven scoreless frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. Carpenter has four homers in six games this postseason and a .958 slugging percentage in 24 at-bats.

2. Posey went 0-for-4 in Game 2 for his first hitless game this postseason.

3. St. Louis LF Matt Holliday is 9-for-26 with five RBIs against Hudson.

PREDICTION: Giants 4, Cardinals 2