The Dodgers and Cardinals wrap this series with the DH slot doing all the talking, but everyone in the building knows what's coming. Shohei Ohtani has been a hitter only for so long, and his return to the mound is getting closer by the series. This game does not have him pitching in it. It has the countdown.
That is what makes this particular closer interesting. Every Dodgers series right now plays out in the shadow of a two-way superstar who is about to become a two-way problem for the rest of the league again. St. Louis is just the team standing in the batter's box and in the way this week, trying to finish this set on the road against a club that is thinking one step ahead of the scoreboard.
None of that decides who wins Wednesday night. The Cardinals still have to get outs and the Dodgers still have to hit, mound return storyline or not. So forget the countdown for a second. Cardinals or Dodgers to take this one?