3 things you need to know: NLDS - Cardinals at Dodgers

A rematch of last season's National League Championship Series will begin Friday when the Los Angeles Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 1 of the NL Division Series. 

The Cardinals will once again look to end the Dodgers' season after taking them down in six games in the NLCS before losing the World Series to the Boston Red Sox. 

Here are three things you need to know about the NLDS matchup: 

Aces in the hole

St. Louis likely has to find a way to beat NL Cy Young favorite - and MVP hopeful - Clayton Kershaw in order to advance, something that was no easy task for opposing teams this season. Los Angeles went 23-4 in games started by Kershaw, who led the majors in wins (21), ERA (1.77), WHIP (0.86) and FIP (1.81), while posting the top strikeout-to-walk rate (7.71) in the NL. 

Kershaw won both games he started against St. Louis this season, allowing three runs while punching out 21 over 14 innings, a far cry from the way he performed against the club last October. 

St. Louis won both NLCS contests pitched by Kershaw, including the elimination game when it tagged the left-hander for seven runs and chased him after four innings. But that's in the past, and the southpaw has somehow taken his game to another level.

The Dodgers' ace will be matched up against arguably the league's next best pitcher in right-hander Adam Wainwright, who threw more than 225 innings for the second consecutive season.

Wainwright, the NL's All-Star Game starter, posted a career-best 2.38 ERA and the lowest home run rate in the league. The 33-year-old, who will be on the road for Game 1, had a 1.72 ERA over 130 2/3 innings away from Busch Stadium this season. 

Both clubs have strong arms that will follow, but the team that beats the other's ace - both will get two starts if the best-of-five series goes the distance - is likely to come out on top. 

Cardinals have clear advantage behind the plate

These clubs are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to the running game. Only two teams in baseball stole fewer bases than St. Louis, while the Dodgers paced the NL with 138 (led by speedster Dee Gordon, who swiped a major league-leading 64 bases.) Yasiel Puig, Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp are all capable on the basepaths, too.

But it's going to be difficult for Los Angeles to exploit that advantage with Yadier Molina behind the dish for the Cardinals. St. Louis might not run often, but Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis isn't nearly as big a threat to throw runners out:

Offensively, there's no comparison between the two, either. 

Kemp is back

The Dodgers signed Kemp in 2011 to an eight-year, $160-million deal to be the face of the franchise after he finished second in MVP voting. He was limited during two injury-shortened seasons in the years that followed before being moved off center field and benched earlier in 2014. Perhaps the hit to his ego is all he needed to get back on track. 

Kemp raked in the second half, placing among baseball's top three leaders in the categories below, proving that he's still a force at the plate.