What a series this has been folks! Game 3 of the NLDS for the Cardinals started out like Game 1 and 2, struggling to get runs on the board, but like both times before, big key hits in the late innings provided the excitement. What can we say about Matt Carpenter in this series? The man is absolutely on fire, going 2 for 4 last night with a home run and a double, bringing his stat line for the series so far to an impressive .500 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI's. Its hard to imagine the Cardinals being up 2 games to 1 with Carpenter producing the way he is. Kolten Wong provided the hit of the night though, driving a 2-run home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the 7th to give the Cardinals the 3-1 win. Lackey pitched masterfully, going 7 strong innings, giving up only 1 run on 5 hits, while striking out 8, improving his impressive post season resume to 7-5 (2.92 ERA).
Game 4 is set to begin here in a few minutes, with the Cardinals hoping to complete the series tonight in St Louis with Shelby Miller on the mound. Miller, although he struggled for a good deal of the regular season, has pitched well as of late, with a September stat line of 2-0 (1.48 ERA). The Dodgers counter with Clayton Kershaw, who is pitching on three days rest. While it may seem the Cardinals may be at an advantage going against a pitcher on such short rest, Kershaw sports a 2-0 (0.47 ERA) in three career starts on three days rest. But the Cardinals have had his number in the past two post season games, so we'll have to see if the trend can continue today and lead the Redbirds to a NLDS title.
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Oct. 5, 2014
Well, the first two games of the 2014 NLDS are in the books and the Cardinals find themselves heading back to St. Louis with the series tied 1-1 after some hard nosed, determined play. Game 1 seemed all but lost with Clayton Kershaw pitching a gem for most of the game and Adam Wainwright struggling to find his control on the mound. Lets be honest, down five runs with the greatest pitcher in the game today carving up our batters for most of the game, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone outside of the Cardinal's dugout who thought they still have a chance, but the Cardinals never gave up and battled back and with the help of big hits from Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday, they stole the first game 10-9. The Cardinals helped Kershaw make some history that night, being the only pitcher in MLB history to give up 7 earned runs in back to back playoff starts. Check out some of the highlights from the game below.
Game 3 is Monday in St Louis, though game time as of Sunday morning is still TBA. Cardinals send out John Lackey set to face off against Hyun-Jin Ryu in a pivotal Game 3 to see who gains the momentum of the series. Lackey, although somewhat mediocre during his time with the Cardinals so far, has an established record of pitching well in the postseason, going 6-5 with an ERA just over three in sixteen career post season starts, including going 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA last year with the Boston Red Sox.
Tune in Tuesday to get all the details and highlights of Game 3
And as always..... GO CARDS
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Sept. 29, 2014
So the regular season has now officially come to an end, and the Cardinals again find themselves playoff bound after a semi-solid 90-72 record. Although plagued throughout the season with an inconsistent offense and at times sketchy pitching staff, the Cardinals find themselves heading into the postseason to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Game 1 on Friday features arguably two of the greatest pitchers in the game today, with Adam Wainwright taking the hill against the all-but-final NL Cy Young Award winner in Clayton Kershaw. Although a daunting task given the season Kershaw has had, Cardinal fans will remember that last year in the Championship Series against the Dodgers, Kershaw got knocked around pretty good, giving up 10 hits and 7 earned runs in a 4 inning performance.
The schedule for the NLDS is as follows:
Game 1: Fri., Oct. 3 at Dodger Stadium
Game 2: Sat., Oct. 4 at Dodger Stadium
Game 3: Mon, Oct. 6 at Busch Stadium
Game 4*: Tue., Oct. 7 at Busch Stadium
Game 5*: Thu., Oct. 9 at Dodger Stadium
*if necessary, Broadcasted on FS1 or MLBNetwork
More breakdown of the Dodgers/Cardinals series to come in the next couple of days.
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First post... HERE WE GO!
In a must win game to keep the surging Pirates at bay, the Cardinals once again scratched and clawed their way to another win over the Brewers, thanks in part to the extra inning heroics of Tony Cruz. Shelby Miller continued the trend of great starting pitching, going six strong innings and allowing only one earned run. The bullpen shut it down after that, but again the offense has struggled to put runs on the board, scoring only seven runs and batting .198 in the series. The Cardinals wrap up their last regular season home stand starting tonight vs. the Reds, while Pittsburgh takes on Milwaukee at home.
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