NLDS Game 5 previews: Cardinals at Braves, Nationals at Dodgers

A closely contested NLDS between the Cardinals and Braves will be settled in the fifth and final game at SunTrust Park on Wednesday afternoon. St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty (11-8, 2.75 ERA) will face Mike Foltynewicz (8-6, 4.54 ERA) in a rematch of Game 2, which Atlanta won 3-0. Bettors should expect a similar outcome in Game 5.

Flaherty produced a quality start in Game 2, with three runs allowed over seven innings, but a lack of run support doomed him. Braves outfielder Adam Duvall, who drove in two runs with a seventh-inning homer against Flaherty, is up to five RBIs in the series and must be dealt with carefully. Fellow outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is also swinging at hot bat and has amassed eight hits and three walks in 18 plate appearances.

If Flaherty gets in trouble, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has hinted he might use Adam Wainwright in relief on two days' rest. The veteran has a 6.22 ERA on the road this year, so that would seem ill-advised.

Foltynewicz shut out the Cardinals through seven frames in Game 2 and will have Max Fried (no runs allowed in three appearances) ready in relief following a two-day break. Expect Mark Melancon, who has earned two straight saves following a blown save in Game 1, to shut the door in the ninth inning.

MLB free play: Braves moneyline

Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:37 p.m. ET, TBS

The Nationals have fought valiantly to make it this far, but the Dodgers are likely to overwhelm them in L.A. on Wednesday night and take the decisive Game 5.

Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA) will start for Washington, and though he has pitched brilliantly this postseason (one earned run allowed over nine innings, with 14 strikeouts and zero walks), he can only go so far in his third start since Oct. 1. Max Scherzer started in Game 4, which leaves him unlikely to ease the burden on the Nats' woeful bullpen.

Walker Buehler (14-4, 3.26 ERA), who delivered six shutout innings in Game 1, will be followed by Clayton Kershaw in Game 5, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. That tandem should silence Washington's bats throughout.