LAD at STL: Dodgers and Cardinals announce NLCS rosters
The Dodgers and Cardinals have both announced their 25-man rosters for the National League Championship Series, which begins Friday night.
The Dodgers have made two changes: they've swapped left-handed pitchers Chris Capuano and Paco Rodriguez with right-handed pitchers Edinson Volquez and Carlos Marmol.
Here's the Dodgers' full roster:
The Cardinals have made no changes to their 25-man roster, and are going with the same group that defeated the Pirates.
Here's the full Cardinals roster, via MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch:
PITCHERS: Joe Kelly, Michael Wacha, Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist, Randy Choate, Carlos Martinez, John Axford, Edward Mujica, Seth Maness
POSITION PLAYERS: Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz, Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, Pete Kozma, Daniel Descalso, Kolten Wong, David Freese, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Jon Jay, Shane Robinson, Adron Chambers
The Dodgers' swap of relievers is being questioned, as the Cardinals hit significantly better against right-handed pitchers (.280/.343/.412, 92 HR, 571 RBI, 4,105 at-bats) than left-handed pitchers (.238/.301/.371, 33 HR, 174 RBI, 1,452 at-bats) during the regular season.
Edinson Volquez and Carlos Marmol? I guess the Dodgers are preparing for when they need to issue a lot of intentional walks.
— David Cameron (@DCameronFG) October 11, 2013
The changes leave only one left-handed reliever in the Dodgers' bullpen:
That's welcome news for the #StlCards, who struggle against lefties, with J.P. Howell only lefty in #Dodgers pen for NLCS.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 11, 2013