St. Louis Cardinals to keep starting lineup unchanged – NLCS Update
The St. Louis Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny on Monday, October 22, decided to keep the starting line-up unchanged. The decision will have a great impact on the final outcome of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series as series stands tied at 3-all apiece.
Cardinals’ offence has barely been at its best in the last few games. The fact that they once had a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven-game series and are now facing either elimination or a tough competition to make it to the World Series will certainly necessitate a lot of introspection.
Take for example Allen Craig, one of their supposedly prolific hitters. He has a record of 3-for-20 in these games, something that the Cardinals might not have anticipated to happen. On the other hand, Jon Jay is 5-for-25.
All this may well be sign of worry, but manager Mike Matheny has his perspective about it. After all, it was the same starting line-up that helped the Cardinals make it to the National League Championship Series.
"I think about 20 different lineups every night," Matheny said. "But I keep coming back to what's been working for us. And there's a reason. And there was a reason that we were able to make the push that we did, and it was people really finding their spot. It took us a lot longer than it took quite a few other teams to really find that formula in our lineup.”
Matheny, owing to the experience and insight, looks differently at the whole matter. "It's just a matter of looking over the big picture and seeing what gives us the best chance. Today is not the time to start rewriting anything."
With a lot at stake, Monday’s Game 7 will determine the fate of the Cardinals, a club that is currently defending the World Series championship.
The past year saw the same team making astounding comebacks, from their Wild Card berth to making it to the post-season games, especially the World Series wherein they beat the Texas Rangers. It will be interesting to see if they are able to do it again.
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