Shelby Miller has been such a cog in the Cardinals’ rotation for the last two years that it’s easy to forget that until Tuesday, he had never made a postseason start. Judging from that performance, and his general emergence as one of the Cardinals’ most reliable starters, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever again be on the outside of an October rotation looking in.

When he took over as principal owner in 1996, Bill DeWitt Jr. took his vision of sustained success and went about initiating an organizational rebuilding that has propelled the Cardinals to postseason prominence almost annually since the start of the century.

The Dodgers had a good season end badly Tuesday night, and manager Don Mattingly began his postgame news conference by congratulating the winners. “On behalf of my club and our organization I’d like to congratulate St. Louis,” he said. “When they needed to get things done, they got it done.”

It is the “Cardinal Way.” And if it rubs some people the wrong way, sorry. The Cardinals aren’t apologizing. They don’t have to. They do it their way and it works.

If the Dodgers went into this postseason knowing ace Clayton Kershaw was going to allow 11 earned runs in two losses to the Cardinals and have to pitch on three days’ rest, they wouldn’t have figured to win their just-concluded NLDS.

The Cardinals’ clubhouse celebration after they beat the Dodgers, 3-2, in Game 4 of their National League Division Series clincher Tuesday looked largely like a lot of the other raucous parties teams have when they win in the postseason.

Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett, who threw a no-hitter in May but was on the disabled list for most of the last three months of the season, announced his retirement after the team was eliminated from the NL Division Series on Tuesday night.

Matt Adams went crazy, folks. The Cardinals first baseman couldn’t help it Tuesday evening as he ran down the first-base line after hitting the biggest home run of his career, adding yet another large exclamation point to the decorated championship history book of this franchise.

Clayton Kershaw started on short rest for the Dodgers against the Cardinals in the NLDS on Tuesday. Historically, that hasn’t worked out well for the pitcher — but not always.

Don Mattingly discusses Game 4 of the NLDS won by the Cardinals.

There’s time before the O’s must set their ALCS roster, and if the ALDS taught us anything, it’s that Buck Showalter will take that decision, along with the rotation order, down to the wire.

Terrance Gore has turned into the Herb Washington of his generation, a basestealing specialist who epitomizes the speed and maneuverability of the Royals, baseball’s hottest team.

Here are three keys for the Royals if they’re going to dispatch the Orioles in the ALCS (Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. CT on TBS).

With a single in the bottom of the second inning of Monday’s Game 3 of the National League Division Series, Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval extended his Major League-leading postseason hitting streak to 14 games.

Start times for the League Championship Series games have been set through Saturday. The Royals and Orioles will begin the AL Championship Series on Friday night at Camden Yards. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET (watch on TBS).

When A.J. Preller was hired as gm of the Padres in August, Chris Kemp was excited for him, but in no way saw it as an opportunity to leave his own post with the Rangers for a job and a chance to be reunited with Preller in San Diego. But when Preller recently offered Kemp, the opportunity for something bigger — director of international scouting with the Padres — the 31-year-old simply couldn’t pass this up.

The Orioles were clear Sunday that this — a 3-0 sweep of the Tigers in the American League Division Series — was only a step toward their ultimate goal. But now the O’s will have to face the hottest team in baseball: the Kansas City Royals.