ST. LOUIS

Changing cast, same old hit show for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the NL Championship Series for the fourth straight year, the Cardinals used just five players from their 2011 World Series champions in the just-completed fourgame Division Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sixteen players carried over from the roster in last year’s World Series loss to Boston.

“We wanted to make sure we could do this internally and have the depth to be successful and build from within,” general manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday night amid the ruckus of yet another champagne spraying celebration. “You’re seeing that pay off now.”

Fifteen of the 25 players active against the Dodgers were Cardinals’ amateur draft picks, the most among the 10 playoff teams. Along with the savings of carrying so much youth, there’s camaraderie, too, with players who came up together.

“We’ve got something special going on right now,” said leadoff man Matt Carpenter, a 13th-round selection in 2009. “Guys expect to win. It’s just real fun.”

N.L. postseason

National League
San Francisco 3, Washington 1
Friday, Oct. 3: San Francisco 3,
Washington 2
Saturday, Oct. 4: San Francisco 2,
Washington 1, 18 innings
Monday, Oct. 6: Washington 4, San
Francisco 1
Tuesday, Oct. 7: San Francisco 3,
Washington 2
St. Louis 3, Los Angeles 1
Friday, Oct. 3: St. Louis 10, Los Angeles 9
Saturday, Oct. 4: Los Angeles 3, St.
Louis 2
Monday, Oct. 6: St. Louis 3, Los
Angeles 1
Tuesday, Oct. 7: St. Louis 3, Los
Angeles 2

National League
Saturday, Oct. 11: San Francisco
(Bumgarner 18-10) at St. Louis
(Wainwright 20-9), 8:07 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Oct. 12: San Francisco at St.
Louis, 8:07 p.m. (FS1)
Tuesday, Oct. 14: St. Louis at San
Francisco, 4:07 (FS1)
Wednesday, Oct. 15: St. Louis at San
Francisco, 8:07 p.m. (FS1)
x-Thursday, Oct. 16: St. Louis at San
Francisco, 8:07 p.m. (FS1)
x-Saturday, Oct. 18: San Francisco at
St. Louis, 4:07 p.m. (Fox)
x-Sunday, Oct. 19: San Francisco at
St. Louis, 7:37 p.m. (FS1)