Michael Wacha, St. Louis' 22-year-old rookie northpaw, has made easy work of the Dodgers over the first four innings, with the lone blemish on his record being a first-inning single and stolen base by Mark Ellis. Wacha's fastball has settled in the mid- to high 90s, and his pitch count stands at 61 (40 strikes and 21 balls). The righty has struck out four batters (Yasiel Puig has been a whiff victim twice) and has yet to allow a walk.
Likewise, 2011 NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw has only allowed one hit, a first-inning triple to Matt Carpenter. Though he allowed a leadoff walk to Carlos Beltran to begin the fourth inning, Kershaw promptly erased his mistake by getting Matt Holliday to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play. The southpaw then induced a ground ball from Yadier Molina to escape the inning. Through four frames, Kershaw has two strikeouts and a walk, and he has thrown just 39 pitches.
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