The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis have had quite a history. The 2013 National League Championship Series is the fourth postseason encounter between the two teams. The Cardinals won in the 1985 NLCS and the 2004 NLDS, while the DOdgers won the 2009 NLDS. A series win will not only catapult the winner into the World Series but will either result in Los Angeles drawing even with St. Louis in their postseason rivalry or St. Louis leading the match-up 3-1. For 2013, the Dodgers hosted the Cardinals in April and lost the series, 1-2. They would pay it back in August, winning 3-1 over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, winning the season series 4-3.

The Championship Series will most probably be a duel between two amazing sluggers: the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig and the Cardinals' Carlos Beltran. Puig, the rookie phenom who defected from Cuba in 2012, is one of the most outstanding prospects to have come out of the farm leagues system in recent years. Puig hit 19 home runs and 42 RBI in 104 games and was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Puig is third in his team in total home runs, behind Adrian Gonzalez (22) and Hanley Ramirez (20).

Carlos Beltran, on the other hand, is a 13-year veteran who hit a total of 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 145 games in the 2013 season. The eight-time All-Star has played in over 2,000 games. Beltran will have ample support from Matt Holliday, who has hit 22 home runs in 2013, and Matt Adams, who has 17.

The pitching encounter should be exciting, too. The Cardinals have named Joe Kelly as their starting pitcher for Game 1, while his Dodgers counterpart is Zack Greinke. Kelly has an ERA of 3.08, striking out 154 batters in 27 games. Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young winner, has struck out 1,480 batters and has a career ERA of 3.65 with a win-loss record of 106-82.

Watch the game LIVE here (10/13/2013 10:30 am AEDT): LINK 1 LINK 2 LINK 3