St. Louis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2011 ) Milwaukee 0, St. Louis 2

THE STORY: After a pair of dramatic Game 5 victories in their respective Division Series, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to turn the page quickly for the opening game of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals have streaked through the last six weeks, overcoming a huge deficit to reach the postseason on the last day and then taking out the Philadelphia Phillies, who won 102 games in the regular season. The Brewers beat out the Cardinals for the NL Central crown and became just the third team in division series history to win Game 5 on a walk-off hit.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (13-7, 3.56 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.83 ERA).

Garcia lost Game 3 against the Phillies, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings. The 25-year old got knocked around for seven runs - three earned - and 10 hits in a no decision at Milwaukee on Aug 2. He shut out Milwaukee in May and is 3-2 with a 3.27 ERA against the division rivals in his career.

Greinke took the ball in Game 2 of the NLDS on three days’ rest and struggled a bit, allowing four runs and eight hits in five innings. He did not factor in the decision in that one and has not lost since falling to St. Louis on Sept. 7. Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings during that contest and went 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA against the Cardinals in 2011. The righthander has yet to lose at Miller Park.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Chris Carpenter outdueled Roy Halladay in a 1-0 win in Game 5, allowing three hits in the shutout. Overall, St. Louis has won 19 of its last 26 games to surge into the NLCS. Albert Pujols, who hit .350 (7-for-20) against Philadelphia, is now guaranteed at least two more games in front of the fans at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won five of six from Milwaukee over the last five weeks to finish even in the season series, 9-9.

ABOUT THE BREWERS: Milwaukee just barely avoided becoming the first National League team to blow a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five NLDS when Nyjer Morgan singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning on Friday night. The Brewers won all three games at home in the series and finished a major league-best 57-24 at Miller Park during the regular season. The Cardinals, however, swept a three-game set at Miller Park from Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

FINAL PITCH: The Cardinals could be without infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker, who left Game 5 in the third inning with an oblique injury. Schumaker, who started at second base and center fielder in the NLDS and came in on defense in right, also left Game 4 with a hamstring cramp.