The St. Louis Cardinals will attempt to even the NLCS score against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday night when Edwin Jackson takes the mound against fellow Toronto trade target Shaun Marcum. Jackson began his Cardinals career twice snakebitten by the Brewers before he—and the rest of the squad—turned the ship around; Marcum struggled intermittently in the season’s final month before the Diamondbacks tagged him with seven runs in 4 2/3 innings pitched in his first-ever postseason start.
For the Cardinals, the game represents another attempt to get dinged-up slugger Matt Holliday into team-carrying mode. After nearly being replaced in the NLDS Holliday was 2-9 and struggled to make hard contact against Philadelphia; in the opener against Milwaukee Sunday afternoon he was 2-4 but still looked less than locked in. After a positive practice session he’s been moved into the cleanup spot, flanked by Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman.
The rest of the Cardinals’ starting lineup is unsurprising, save, perhaps, for the appearance of Nick Punto, batting eighth and slotted in at second base. Game 2 of the 2011 NLCS starts at 7:05 PM CDT at Miller Park and on TBS.