The Cardinals face their second do or die game of the series, but this time they possess home field advantage. They send off-season acquisition and conspiracy theorist Mark Mulder against the lone gunman, Roy Oswalt.

Mulder twice pitched in elimination games, going 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA. He faced Roger Clemens on Oct 15, 2001 and neither pitched well. Both lasted just 4 1/3 innings, but two unearned runs hung the loss on Mark. On Oct. 6, 2002, Mulder got the call against the Twins and pitched great, striking out nine in seven innings, but Radke pitched better and a late comeback vs. Guardado wasn't enough. Mulder's only allowed 2 earned runs in two starts this post season, but an unearned run helped pin a loss on him in game 2 of this series. If he pitches that well again, the Cardinals have an excellent shot at a game 7.

Roy Oswalt allowed more earned runs hits post season (4), but he's allowed less hits than Mulder (11 to 16). He also out pitched Mark in game 2, allowing two fewer base runners. One problem for Oswalt in the playoffs is his control. In 2004, he walked eight batters in 19 1/3 innings. This year, he's walked five in 14 1/3. As we saw Monday night, a free pass to a Cardinal can set up a big inning.

Enjoy!