Rafael Furcal solidified the Cardinals' shortstop position after he was acquired in a July trade, and he's made a positive impact on the Redbirds in the clubhouse. He is seeking his first World Series berth.

The NLCS always, always, always felt like a matter of the Brewers chasing the Cardinals. And now, it is official. The Brewers are chasing the Cards. Milwaukee is down, 3-2, in the series, with Game 6 on Sunday at Miller Park. But the Brewers have been chasing the Cards for quite a while now.

If the Brewers can score first on Sunday, it would go a long way toward winning Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers consider themselves a particularly resilient bunch, just like every team that has made the postseason without leading wire to wire. Manager Ron Roenicke figures they will have to draw on that resiliency in Game 6 — and, they hope, Game 7 — of the National League Championship Series.

Yovani Gallardo will not pitch for the Brewers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said that, in addition to not asking Gallardo to pitch on short rest on Sunday, he also will not make Gallardo available out of the bullpen.

In five of the Cardinals' six postseason victories against the Phillies and Brewers, the teams that conventional wisdom considered the best in the Senior Circuit, Tony La Russa has not left a starting pitcher in to record an out in the sixth inning.

Adam Wainwright held on to the dream as long as he possibly could, but the time has finally come to face reality. Even if the Cardinals advance to the World Series, Wainwright will not pitch in a game in 2011.

Skip Schumaker, who was kept off the Cardinals' National League Championship Series roster due to a strained right oblique muscle, should be ready to play if the club advances to the World Series.

A win would allow the Cardinals to set up their pitching rotation in a way they were unable to do in either of the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Cardinals got to this stage through talent, resurgence and a slew of inspiring play. But you don't make the playoffs despite being 10 1/2 back on Aug. 25 without a little bit of luck.

The Brewers once more couldn't win with the talented Zack Greinke on the mound for Friday night's Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium, but they've been in that spot before. All of Greinke's losses in 2011 have occurred on the road.

The Cardinals took advantage of the Brewers' poor defensive effort, tallying three unearned runs, to grab a 7-1 victory and a 3-2 NLCS lead on Friday at Busch Stadium.

The Brewers are down, 3-2, in the National League Championship Series. And their Game 6 starter is Shaun Marcum. Combine those two facts, and to objective observers, this could add up to one thing: A National League pennant for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In Friday's 7-1 loss in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series on Friday — which gave the Cardinals a 3-2 series lead — Yuniesky Betancourt showed both positives and negatives. The result was an all too familiar feeling for the proud members of Brewers Nation.

On consecutive pitches in the second inning Friday, Brewers third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. made one of the best defensive plays of the series and one of the worst.

Edwin Jackson gets the nod for the Cardinals in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday against the Brewers at Miller Park. St. Louis leads the series, 3-2.

The Cardinals and Brewers have come to Miller Park and Busch Stadium not to knife each other in the back, not to kick each other in the groin, not to exchange personal insults, but to play some highly competitive October baseball.