Everyone around here likes to talk about Yu Darvish being the Texas Rangers' ace and the Rangers not winning enough games that Darvish started this season.
The NLCS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers is a perfect reminder that just because you have your ace on the hill, you're not guaranteed a victory.
In Game 1, the Dodgers sent a red-hot Zack Greinke to the mound. Greinke would be the ace of many staffs, and the Rangers pushed hard to make him the ace of their staff over the winter. But for the Dodgers, he's 1a behind Clayton Kershaw. Greinke pitched well, like an ace would, but the Dodgers lost the game in marathon fashion.
In Game 2, Kershaw took the hill and allowed just an unearned run as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 1-0 thanks to a masterful outing by rookie Michael Wacha.
Then in Game 3 on Monday night, the Cardinals looked poised to take a 3-0 lead in the series with their ace, Adam Wainwright, on the mound, but the Dodgers jumped on Wainwright early and cruised to a 3-0 win to pull within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Aces are definitely nice, but don't count your chickens before they hatch.
