Baseball playoffs resume Thursday

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Clayton Kershaw will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday and Cole Hamels for Philadelphia in the opening game of the NL Championship Series.

The second round of the Major League Baseball playoffs will begin in Dodger Stadium, with forecasters calling for mostly clear skies and temperatures in the 70s for a first pitch scheduled at 5:07 p.m. PDT.

Kershaw, a rookie, started the final game of the regular season -- which the Dodgers needed to win against Colorado to capture the National League West title. He was not the pitcher of record in that Los Angeles victory, but struck out 10 over six innings.

He then limited St. Louis to two runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings in Game 2 of the division series. He did not figure in the decision of that game, either, but Los Angeles won it en route to a three-game sweep.

Hamels started and lost Game 2 of Philadelphia's division series against Colorado. He left after five innings to be with his wife as she delivered their first child.

Hamels had a 4-0 record in the playoffs last year as the Phillies were on their way to winning only their second World Series title in the franchise's 126-year history.

Los Angeles last played in and won the World Series 21 years ago.

The AL Championship Series is scheduled to start Friday, with the New York Yankees hosting the Los Angeles Angels. Rain is forecast in New York through Sunday.