Central Division champion St. Louis (91-71) and East Division champion Atlanta (97-65) have not played since May. The Braves went 4-2 against the Cards, winning both three-game series during the regular season.

The teams last met in the playoffs in the 2012 wild-card game, which the Cardinals won. The Braves have lost nine straight playoff rounds, one short of matching the Chicago Cubs' record for futility.

Atlanta sends left-hander Dallas Keuchel (8-8, 3.75 ERA) against St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.16) to begin the best-of-five series.

It will be the 11th career postseason appearance for Keuchel, who was expected to fill this role when he was signed as a free agent in June. He went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in his previous playoff games with the Houston Astros.

Over his past eight starts, Keuchel is 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA, but he lost his final three outings. The primary concern has been home runs; he allowed two long balls in two of his final three starts. He gave up four runs over five innings in his final tune-up on Sept. 27 against the New York Mets.

Keuchel did not face the Cardinals this year and is 0-2 with a 10.03 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against St. Louis.

Mikolas won 18 games a year ago when the Cardinals missed the playoffs. He was moved into the role as the Game 1 starter when St. Louis used ace Jack Flaherty to clinch the NL Central crown on Sunday.

Mikolas is 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA over his last six starts, striking out 35 in 35 2/3 innings. In his last start on Sept. 22 against the Chicago Cubs, Mikolas allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings but did not get a decision.

He is 1-2 with a 2.61 in four career appearances (three starts) against Atlanta. He lost his only start against the Braves this season despite allowing only three runs over seven innings on May 24.

The Braves are banking that first baseman Freddie Freeman (right elbow) and center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (hip) will be back to full strength. Acuna had one at-bat in the final week of the season. Outfielder Ender Inciarte, out since Aug. 17 with a right hamstring issue, has been ruled out.

>>Rays Power Past A's

Yandy Diaz slugged baseball's lowest spender into a playoff matchup with mighty Houston, Charlie Morton silenced the powerful Athletics on the mound, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Oakland at its own game with a 5-1 win in the AL wild-card round Wednesday night.

After playing only one game since late July because of a foot injury, Diaz hit a leadoff homer and went deep again in the third inning.

Avisail Garcia hit a two-run drive in the second, and Morton had all the support he needed as Tampa Bay advanced to face the AL West champion Astros in a best-of-five Division Series.

Pham homered in the fifth for the 96-win Rays, who had the smallest payroll in the majors at $66.4 million. And in a playoff meeting between creative, small-budget teams that make the most of limited resources, it was Tampa Bay that came out on top.

The A's have lost nine straight winner-take-all games since 2000, going 1-15 with a chance to advance to the next postseason round. Their only win came in 2006 against the Twins before being swept in the AL Championship Series by the Tigers.

A year ago in the wild-card game, Oakland's first time back in the playoffs since 2014, the A's fell behind fast and lost 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. They won 97 games again to earn a wild card.

This game had a far different feel in the familiar, friendly confines of the Coliseum, but the A's dug themselves another quick hole.

And the visitors were the ones putting on a happy home run show this time. Oakland, which hit a franchise-record 257 homers, is 0-6 in winner-take-all playoff games at home since 2000.

Morton, with a career-high 16 wins and his best ERA yet of 3.05 this season, counted on his playoff experience giving him an edge. He won Game 7 of the ALCS and World Series for the Astros in 2017.

Morton gave up five hits without an earned run over five innings. He struck out four and walked three in his seventh postseason start and eighth appearance, having spent the last two seasons with Houston.

The right-hander walked Mark Canha to load the bases with two outs in the first before retiring Jurickson Profar on a flyball and had already thrown 32 pitches.

Morton quickly settled in and once his turn was done, the Rays' shutdown bullpen did the rest.

Game 1 is Friday at Houston, which piled up a major league-best 107 wins this season.