Cardinals Shutout Cubs in Game 1 of NLDS [Tidbits]

John Lackey out-dueled Jon Lester to lift the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of their National League Division Series on October 9, 2015 at Busch Stadium.

In the bottom of the first, Matt Holliday singled up the middle, and Stephen Piscotty scored the first run of the game. It was the game's only run until the bottom of eighth. The St. Louis bats came to life to create three insurance runs by rookies Tommy Pham and Piscotty.

Lackey kept the Cubs hitless through five innings and allowed only three baserunners over 7.33 innings with five strikeouts. Lester also went 7.33 innings with nine strikeouts. He was credited with three of the four runs.

ODD TIDBITS:

- The Cardinals become the first home team to score first during the 2015 MLB Postseason.

- Of the 40 teams to win the first game of the NLDS, 36 have gone on to advance to the NL Championship Series.

- The Cardinals are 8-0 in the NLDS when winning Game 1.

- The Cubs have lost all 11 postseason series they've had in which they dropped the first game.

- Lackey faced the minimum nuber of batters over the first five innings.

- Lackey's 7.33 innings matched the longest start of his postseason career

- Pham became the seventh player in franchise history, third rookie, to hit a homerun in his their postseason at-bat.

NEXT UP: Game 2 is scheduled for tonight (Oct. 10, 2015) at Busch Stadium. Coverage starts at 4:30 PM on TBS. Kyle Hendricks is the expected starter for the Cubs. Lefty Jaime Garcia is slated to take the hill for the Cardinals.