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@hunterfelt 1am start UK time not happening for game one, saving the all nighters for the business end of the series. Go Giants!

— Charlie Talbot (@charlietabloid) October 14, 2012

Yeah, this is a tough one for international baseball fans. Heck, last night's epic Yankees/Tigers game was a tough one even on those of us on America's East Coast.

Starting Lineups

The St. Louis Cardinals lineup, which I've become very, very familiar with are as such:

1. J. Jay, CF
2. C. Beltran, RF
3. M. Holliday, LF
4. A. Craig, 1B
5. Y. Molina, C
6. D. Freese, 3B
7. D. Descalso, 2B
8. P. Kozma, SS
9. L. Lynn, P

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants bring out this lineup, it's amazing that Madison Bumgarner is pitching so soon after making that Space Jump, right?

1. A. Pagan, CF
2. M. Scutaro, 2B
3. P. Sandoval, 3B
4. B. Posey, C
5. H. Pence, RF
6. B. Belt, 1B
7. G. Blanco, LF
8. B. Crawford, SS
9. M. Bumgarner P

"New York's Alright If You Like Tigers Wins"

The Detroit Tigers have won their second straight game against the New York Yankees at a near-empty Yankee Stadium, beating them 3-0 to take a 2-0 series lead on the ALCS. David Lengel has the breakdown here.

Preamble

Going into the ninth inning of the NLDS on Friday night, I was feeling pretty good about my prediction that the Washington Nationals were going to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals and advance to the National League Championship Series. After surrendering a run in the top of the eighth inning, the Nationals got that run back and brought a two run lead in to the top of the ninth and handed the ball to hard-throwing closer Drew Storen.

Well, if you check the headline again, you'll realize that this did not work out as expected for the Washington Nationals. The Cardinals, like a horror movie villain, refused to stay dead. Down to to their last strike, twice, they went on to first tie the game and then win the game, scoring four runs in a half-inning to end the Nationals season.

Meanwhile the San Francisco Giants were just watching this unfold, probably disappointed that the game didn't last 16 innings and that both teams didn't completely wipe out their respective bullpens. The Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Thursday's game 5 of their NLDS, advancing to the NLCS despite the fact that the Reds had put the Giants in 0-2 series hole. So, both of these teams have had some success in coming back after being written off for dead. I'd say that this script was written by Stephen King, but dude's a Red Sox fan.

The St Louis Cardinals are putting Lance Lynn, who worked out of the bullpen in the NLDS, on the mound. He will have to face the Giants' Madison Bumgarner, who won 16 games this year. That's practically Kyle Lohsian! It seems like a bit of a mismatch, but who knows anymore. I'm starting to learn not to ever bet against the Cardinals in any situation. (No, literally, I'm learning not to ever bet against the Cardinals.)

So tonight the NLCS finally begins, after the American League Championship Series has already made it to Game 2. We want to hear from you throughout the game. Send us your questions, comments, predictions and gambling tips (for entertainment purposes only) and we'll use them during this liveblog. Email them to hunter.felt.freelance@guardiannews.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt. Tonight we have the St Louis Cardinals against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Opening pitch? They say 8:00pm EST, but since this is a Fox game, I would expect it closer to 8:10 or so. Us? Well, we'll be back with opening lineups much, much sooner than that.