Dixie bracket: 2019 Cardinals defeat 1973 Braves in six games

Game One: Cardinals 1, Braves 0 (10 innings)
WP: Miller (1-0)
LP: Gentry (0-1)
HR: DeJong (1)

Game Two: Cardinals 3, Braves 0
WP: Brebbia (1-0)
LP: Dobson (0-1)
Save: Miller (1)

Game Three: Braves 5, Cardinals 1
WP: Schuler (1-0)
LP: Hudson (0-1)
HR: D Johnson 2 (2)

Game Four: Braves 8, Cardinals 6
WP: Harrison (1-0)
LP: Mikolas (0-1)
HR: Ozuna (1), Carpenter (1)

Game Five: Cardinals 10, Braves 6
WP: Flaherty (1-0)
LP: P Niekro (0-1)
HR: Goldschmidt (1), Evans (1), Lum (1)

Game Six: Cardinals 3, Braves 2 (14 innings)
WP: Wacha (1-0)
LP: House (0-1)
HR: D Johnson (3)

The games were competitive, but the Cardinals prevailed in large part because their glovework was sharper and their bullpen less leaky.

The first game was dominated by starters Jack Flaherty and Phil Niekro. Flaherty allowed just two singles in eight innings; Niekro one hit in nine innings. Carlos Martinez threw a hitless ninth for the Cards, and Andrew Miller pitched around a leadoff double in the 10th. Gary Gentry relieved Niekro, who had been pinch-hit for, in the bottom of the 10th and gave up a homer to Paul DeJong, the first man he faced.

The starters didn't go as deep in Game Two, but they were just as effective in putting up zeros. Adam Wainwright was in and out of trouble in his five innings of work for the hometeam; he allowed five singles and a walk but no runs. Carl Morton threw six scoreless innings before leaving for a pinch-hitter. Pat Dobson relieved him and gave up two runs in the seventh and another in the eight. St. Louis got scoreless relief work from Tyler Webb, John Brebbia, Michael Wacha and Miller; Brebbia was credited with the victory.

The series shifted to 1973 and the Launching Pad, homer-friendly Fulton County Stadium. Dave Johnson hit a pair of two-run homers for the Braves off Dakota Hudson, and Ron Schuler kept the vistors off the board until there were two outs in the ninth. Schuler finished with a six-hitter.

The Braves evened the series in a high-scoring Game Four. They battered Mile Mikolas for five runs in the third inning with four singles and three walks, and the Cardinals never quite caught up despite two-run homers from Marcel Ozuna in the fifth and Matt Carpenter in the ninth. Roric Harrison allowed four runs in six innings, but that was good enough for the win.

The Cardinals won Game Five's slugfest, with Paul Goldschmidt driving in six runs -- his only RBIs of the series, as it turned out. Flaherty threw six scoreless innings but came out after he allowed a single and a homer to the first two hitters in the seventh.

The series returned to 2019 and Busch Stadium III, and the Cardinals took the series with a 14-inning triumph. Morton held the home team to one earned run in eight innings, but that was only good enough to forge a deadlock. The Cardinals got 9.6 scoreless innings from their bullpen, and they broke through in the bottom of the 14th against Tom House: Harrison Bader was hit by a pitch to start the inning, was bunted to second and scored on a two-out single by Tommy Edman. Michael Wacha threw three scoreless innings for the win.

Player availiability: Jose Martinez is injured through Game Four of the second round. He has been deactivated and Jordan Hicks added to the active roster. Wacha must sit Game One.

Projected rotation: Flaherty-Hudson-Wainwright-Mikolas-(Flaherty)-(Hudson)-(Wainwright)