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After winning the opener with Fernando Valenzuela out-dueling John Tudor, the Dodgers look to take what would surely be an unsurmountable 2-0 series lead in the 1985 NLCS against the Cardinals.
Game 2 is a Thursday late afternoon start (4:35 p.m. PT) at Dodger Stadium, with Orel Hershiser facing off against Joaquin Adujar, a chance for Hershiser to improve on his 11-0 home record this season, with a 1.08 ERA in Los Angeles.
1985 NLCS Game 2 lineups
| Pos | Cardinals | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Cardinals | Pos | Dodgers |
| LF | Coleman (S) | SS | Duncan |
| CF | McGee (S) | CF | Landreaux (L) |
| 2B | Herr (S) | 3B | Madlock |
| 1B | Clark | LF | Guerrero |
| RF | Van Slyke (L) | RF | Marshall |
| 3B | Pendleton (S) | C | Scioscia (L) |
| C | Porter (L) | 1B | Brock (L) |
| SS | Smith (S) | 2B | Sax |
| P | Andujar (S) | P | Hershiser |
The 1985 Cardinals were perfectly constructed for their era. St. Louis ranked next-to-last in the National League in home runs, but let the league in runs scored and attacked the bases with reckless abandon. The Cardinals stole a stunning 314 bases, just the second team of the live ball era to steal 300 bases, led by rookie Vince Coleman swiping 110.
It was the Dodgers who stole more bases than the Cardinals in Game 1, with Pedro Guerrero stealing two and Bill Madlock stealing another in the 4-1 win.
Those Cardinals had one of the best individual stat lines in history, with second baseman Tom Herr (who batted third most of the year) hitting eight home runs while driving in 110 runs, one of two people with 100 RBI with single-digit homers in the last 70 years.
Herr is one of five regular switch-hitters in the Cardinals lineup, and Andujar on the mound gives St. Louis a sixth switch-hitter in this game.
This is the first year the league championship series are best-of-7, with the series shifting to St. Louis for the three middle games after this Game 2 battle.
Counting Game 1, the Dodgers are 8-5 against the Cardinals this season, including 5-2 at Dodger Stadium.
We’re going to watch this via YouTube, starting at 5 p.m. PT.