Gateway Redbirds: A St. Louis Cardinals Franchise (Trade deadline rosters)

[mockme]

Holliday's hustle to beat out double play wins it for Redbirds, forces game 5
BY JOE STRAUSS | Wednesday, October 5, 2011

ST. LOUIS • Matt Holliday certainly showed what never giving up and playing all the way until the end can get you.

The left fielder beat out a double play after Braves' second baseman Dan Uggla had made a beautiful diving stop and thrown out Skip Schumaker at second. Jon Jay was racing home from third and Rafael Furcal was going to take his place as shortstop Alex Rodriguez fired his throw to first base in an attempt to get Holliday out and save the run by getting the Braves out of the inning.

Instead, the Cardinals won the game on the play, as Holliday beat out the throw, and forced the series to a 2-2 tie and to game five, that will take place tomorrow in Atlanta.

"It was a great demonstration of what hustle and determination can get you," said manager Tony La Russa of his star slugger producing a run the way he usually doesn't. "Obviously, it was a matter of only a step or two. My heart at least skipped a beat when I saw Uggla getting to that ball."



Another performance that greatly contributed to the Cardinals' win was an absolutely outstanding relief appearance from rookie Eduardo Sanchez on the mound. The 22-year old right-hander pitched two and two thirds of an inning as he took over for Chris Carpenter in the eighth. In that span, Sanchez allowed only two base hits and no runs.

"He (Sanchez) was as good as he's been all season," La Russa said. "It takes a tremendous amount of guts to come out, at his age, and pitch a game like he did. It's good to have him."

Carpenter, who was called on to start because of the must-win situation the Cardinals were in, pitched seven shutout innings before allowing the Braves to tie the game on a pinch-hit RBI double by Michael Bourn in the eighth. He also almost lost the lead as Martin Prado hit a single to right field. Bourn raced around third, but a good throw by Allen Craig and a great play at the plate by Yadier Molina allowed the Redbirds to get the speedster out.

"Obviously, I don't like giving up runs. But I pitched a good ballgame and the way Eduardo picked me up we deserved to win," Carpenter said of the performance.

Now it all comes down to tomorrow's game five. The Cardinals are going to start Kyle Lohse, while the Braves turn to Jair Jurrjens for his second start of the series. Lohse has yet to make an appearance in this postseason.

"The way he pitched for us throughout the regular season, I have no doubt that he is going to come through and be a good starter for us," said La Russa.

The bullpen is well rested after Sanchez's fantastic performance, so even if Lohse struggles, La Russa has a lot of options to turn to as even though Sanchez may not be available due to his heavy workload today, he has Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs who are both capable of pitching multiple innings.

Meanwhile, the Mets won the other NLDS match-up over the Diamondbacks 3-1, and are now in the NLCS. The ALCS teams have also been decided, with the Red Sox beating taking a 3-2 series win over the Tigers and the Yankees sweeping the Rangers 3-0.

Player of the Game


Lance Berkman - 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, K

Braves at Cardinals |
Oct 5, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Atlanta (2-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	7	0
St. Louis (2-2)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	9	0
W: Eduardo Sanchez (1-0) L: Scott Proctor (0-1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			ATL	STL
STL	2	Freese grounded out to SS. Berkman scores.	0	1
ATL	8	Bourn doubled to left. Gonzalez scores.	1	1
STL	10	Holliday reached first on fielder's choice. Jay scores.	1	2

Atlanta Braves
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Prado, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.118
Costanza, PR-LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Jones, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
McCann, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.412
Heyward, RF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250
Uggla, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.187
Freeman, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.357
McLouth, CF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.182
Gonzalez, SS	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.300
Hudson, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Bourn, PH	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	.429
Moylan, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Ross, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Proctor, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	35	1	7	1	0	6	0
BATTING: 2B: B. McCann (2), M. Bourn (1) RBI: M. Bourn (1) SAC: T. Hudson
BASERUNNING: SB: J. Heyward (2)

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	.111
Schumaker, 2B	4	0	1	0	1	1	0	.294
Holliday, LF	5	0	1	1	0	1	0	.444
Berkman, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	.267
Freese, 3B	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.176
Craig, RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.353
Molina, C	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.385
Jay, CF	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.250
Carpenter, P	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Sanchez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Descalso, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	36	2	9	2	3	4	0
BATTING: 2B: M. Holliday (2), L. Berkman (1), Y. Molina (3) 3B: L. Berkman (1) RBI: M. Holliday (3), D. Freese (2) GIDP: M. Holliday, A. Craig
BASERUNNING: SB: R. Furcal (2), J. Jay (1)

Atlanta Braves
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
T. Hudson	7.0	7	1	1	1	3	0	1.29
P. Moylan	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	4.50
S. Proctor (L, 0-1)	0.2	1	1	1	2	0	0	5.40
TEAM TOTALS	9.2	9	2	2	3	4	0

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
C. Carpenter	7.1	5	1	1	0	5	0	1.35
E. Sanchez (W, 1-0)	2.2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	10.0	7	1	1	0	6	0

[mockme]

Cards on their way to NLCS after convincing win
BY JOE STRAUSS | Thursday, October 6, 2011

ATLANTA • They were a team that no one gave much chance to ever since Albert Pujols broke his arm. Even after they won their division and went to the playoffs, a record of 89-73 wasn't too encouraging when even the Wild Card team had bested them, going 95-67.

And now, they are going to the National League Championship Series to play against that Wild Card.

A dominating 8-2 victory over the Braves ensured that for the Cardinals. Jon Jay delivered three RBIs, and Kyle Lohse, starting his first game of the postseason, pitched through six innings where he allowed only two runs that would be all the offense for Atlanta.

"It feels good. Very good," said manager Tony La Russa. "We stepped on the gas right from the beginning, and never stepped off."

The Cardinals scored two runs in the first inning off Jair Jurrjens, when Matt Holliday and Jay hit back-to-back doubles. The Braves clawed one back on a solo shot by Chipper Jones, and tied it with a single from Jurrjens in the second inning, but after that it was all Cardinals.



RBI triples by Rafael Furcal, Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker, a single and another double by Jay, and a solo home run by Daniel Descalso, who was starting instead of David Freese at third base, rounded up the final score.

After Lohse turned it over to the bullpen, Mitchell Boggs and Arthur Rhodes allowed hits, but no runs. Fernando Salas pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out two.

"A good all-around performance," La Russa said. "The Braves are a good team so to play a game like this against them, and one of their better pitchers, shows what we really are all about. We're a good team too."

What is especially promising for the Cardinals is that the young guys playing in their first postseason don't look starstruck. Jay's huge day and RBIs by Craig and Descalso give a lot of promise to them contributing later as well. Not to mention the job Salas did out of the bullpen, despite having a rough time in his first appearance.

"Sometimes you don't just have your stuff," the reliever said. "Today I had it, and I pitched well. That's baseball."

Craig also had his troubles early on, committing two errors in two games on defense and not hitting too well. But he has picked himself up nicely in the last three games and has become a big contributor on offense and defense.

The NLCS begins Saturday in New York. The Cardinals will start Jaime Garcia in game one against rookie sensation Dillon Gee. Meanwhile, the Yankees and the Red Sox play for the ALCS starting tomorrow.

Video highlights of the game will be up later.

Player of the Game

Jon Jay - 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R

St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves
Oct 6, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis (3-2)	2	0	1	2	0	0	2	1	0	8	15	0
Atlanta (2-3)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	1
W: Kyle Lohse (1-0) L: Jair Jurrjens (0-1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			STL	ATL
STL	1	Holliday doubled to center. Schumaker scores.	1	0
STL	1	Jay doubled to right. Holliday scores.	2	0
ATL	1	Jones homered to right.	2	1
ATL	2	Jurrjens grounded to SS for a single. Gonzalez scores.	2	2
STL	3	Jay grounded to center for a single. Berkman scores.	3	2
STL	4	Furcal tripled to 2B. Molina scores.	4	2
STL	4	Schumaker tripled to left. Furcal scores.	5	2
STL	7	Jay doubled to 3B. Holliday scores.	6	2
STL	7	Craig tripled to right. Jay scores.	7	2
STL	8	Descalso homered to right.	8	2

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	5	1	1	1	0	0	0	.130
Rhodes, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Salas, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Schumaker, 2B	5	1	2	1	0	1	0	.318
Berkman, 1B	5	1	2	0	0	1	0	.300
Holliday, LF	5	2	3	1	0	1	0	.478
Jay, CF	5	1	3	3	0	0	0	.333
Craig, RF	5	0	1	1	0	1	0	.318
Molina, C	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	.294
Descalso, 3B-SS	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.333
Lohse, P	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Boggs, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Freese, PH-3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.222
TEAM TOTALS	41	8	15	8	0	4	1
BATTING: 2B: M. Holliday (3), L. Berkman (2), J. Jay 2 (3) 3B: R. Furcal (1), S. Schumaker (1), A. Craig (1) HR: D. Descalso (1) RBI: R. Furcal (2), M. Holliday (4), D. Descalso (1), J. Jay 3 (4), S. Schumaker (1), A. Craig (1)
BASERUNNING: SB: L. Berkman (1)

Atlanta Braves
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Prado, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.143
Jones, 3B	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	.150
McCann, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Heyward, RF	4	0	3	0	0	0	0	.350
Uggla, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.150
Venters, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Freeman, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.278
McLouth, CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.143
O'Flaherty, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Lugo, 2B	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.200
Gonzalez, SS	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.286
Jurrjens, P	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	.333
Bourn, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.500
Sherrill, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Costanza, CF	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	.500
TEAM TOTALS	36	2	9	2	0	3	1
BATTING: 2B: J. Heyward (1), A. Gonzalez (1) HR: C. Jones (1) RBI: J. Jurrjens (1), C. Jones (2)
FIELDING: E: C. Jones (1)

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
K. Lohse (W, 1-0)	6.0	7	2	2	0	1	1	3.00
M. Boggs (H, 1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5.40
A. Rhodes	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
F. Salas	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	9.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	9	2	2	0	3	1

Atlanta Braves
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
J. Jurrjens (L, 0-1)	5.0	8	5	3	0	0	0	4.50
G. Sherrill	1.2	4	2	2	0	1	0	3.38
E. O'Flaherty	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	1	5.40
J. Venters	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	6.75
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	15	8	6	0	4	1

[mockme]

Rematch of 2006 NLCS bring forth more similarities in current Cardinal team
BY DERRICK GOOLD | Friday, October 7, 2011

TOWER GROVE • 2006.

That was the most recent NLCS appearance for the St. Louis Cardinals. Also against the New York Mets. That time the Redbirds went all the way and won the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.

Fans are certainly hoping for another postseason like that, and there are things this year's team shares with the champions of 2006.

While the current Cardinals entered the postseason as NL Central winners with only 89 wins, considered by many to be far too few for a playoff team, the 2006 team had only 83 wins at the end of the regular season. They weren't considered as a major threat to win it all, but the team showed that in postseason baseball, anything can happen. You just have to play your best at the right time.

Tony La Russa is still the manager, and Chris Carpenter, Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright all played major parts in winning the championship. Pujols and Wainwright are out with injuries, but even though he missed the last few weeks of the season, Albert was still top ten in batting average, home runs and RBIs. That tells you what kind of season he was having, and how big a part he was for this team to reach the postseason.

David Freese has taken over for Scott Rolen, another Cardinal loved by the fans, while Matt Holliday or Lance Berkman could be considered the Jim Edmonds of this year's team. If the World Series becomes a reality, Jason Motte might just take Wainwright's place as the one to get the final three outs of the final game.

The signs are in the air. This Cardinals team has magic written all over it.

[mockme]

Late scoring helps Cards win first game of NLCS
BY JOE STRAUSS | Saturday, October 8, 2011

NEW YORK • It was a good start for the Cardinals in the 2011 National League Championship Series as a three-run seventh inning powered them past the New York Mets in a 4-1 win.

Jaime Garcia got his second start of the postseason as was nothing short of amazing, allowing no runs on three hits and striking out seven batters in seven full innings of work.

"He (Garcia) was the biggest reason we won today. He certainly doesn't look like he's playing his first ever postseason," manager Tony La Russa said.

Octavio Dotel surrendered the only Mets run in the eighth, and Jason Motte pitched a perfect ninth as he got his second save in the playoffs.

Mets starter Dillon Gee looked like he would match Garcia's performance, but then three consecutive hits to start off the seventh and a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead, and Gee was pulled for Manny Acosta. Craig was a perfect three-for-three with the sacrifice fly on the night.



Skip Schumaker started off the seventh with a lead-off triple, and Lance Berkman followed with a double. Then a triple from Matt Holliday scored Berkman, David Freese popped out and Craig hit the sacrifice fly. A ground out RBI by Luis Castillo provided the Mets run, but a ninth inning RBI single by Yadier Molina scored Holliday and sealed the victory as Motte was perfect.

"Once again we were good all around. At the plate and on the mound," La Russa said.

Edwin Jackson gets the start tomorrow in game two, while Chris Carpenter is scheduled to start game three at Busch Stadium. Mike Pelfrey is the starter for the Mets tomorrow.

Player of the Game


Jaime Garcia - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 7 K

St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets
Oct 8, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis (4-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	10	0
New York (3-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0
W: Jaime Garcia (1-0) L: Dillon Gee (1-1) S: Jason Motte (2)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			STL	NYM
STL	7	Berkman doubled to center. Schumaker scores.	1	0
STL	7	Holliday tripled to center. Berkman scores.	2	0
STL	7	Craig hit a sacrifice fly to CF. Holliday scores.	3	0
NYM	8	Castillo grounded out to 2B. Hairston scores.	3	1
STL	9	Molina grounded to center for a single. Holliday scores.	4	1

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.111
Schumaker, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	.308
Berkman, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	0	0	.292
Holliday, LF	4	2	3	1	0	0	0	.519
Freese, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.182
Craig, RF	3	0	3	1	0	0	0	.400
Molina, C	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	.333
Jay, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.280
Garcia, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250
Theriot, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Dotel, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Motte, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	34	4	10	4	0	5	0
BATTING: 2B: L. Berkman (3) 3B: M. Holliday (1), S. Schumaker (2) RBI: M. Holliday (5), L. Berkman (1), Y. Molina (3), A. Craig (2) SF: A. Craig GIDP: Y. Molina
BASERUNNING: CS: M. Holliday (1)

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Reyes, SS	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.300
Pagan, RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.368
Wright, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.167
Bay, LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.190
Paulino, C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.143
Hairston, CF	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	.667
Murphy, 1B	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.187
Castillo, 2B	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	.294
Gee, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	.400
Acosta, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Tankersley, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Thole, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.429
Igarashi, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Byrdak, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	31	1	5	1	0	9	0
BATTING: 2B: J. Thole (2), S. Hairston 2 (3), A. Pagan (2) RBI: L. Castillo (5) GIDP: A. Pagan

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
J. Garcia (W, 1-0)	7.0	3	0	0	0	7	0	2.08
O. Dotel (H, 2)	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	6.00
J. Motte (S, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	5	1	1	0	9	0

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
D. Gee (L, 1-1)	6.0	6	3	3	0	3	0	3.00
M. Acosta	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
T. Tankersley	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
R. Igarashi	0.2	3	1	1	0	1	0	5.40
T. Byrdak	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.50
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	10	4	4	0	5	0

[mockme]

Game 2 goes to Mets, Cards fall in extra innings
BY JOE STRAUSS | Sunday, October 9, 2011

NEW YORK • The atmosphere in the dugout was great. The Cardinals had taken the lead in the top of the ninth behind an RBI single by David Freese, and Edwin Jackson had a shutout going. Having allowed just four hits to the Mets in eight innings and thrown just 92 pitches, it didn't seem like he wouldn't finish it out.

But he didn't. Two consecutive hits to start off the inning resulted in manager Tony La Russa pulling Jackson for closer Jason Motte, who allowed one more hit. A single off the bat of David Wright that drove in Jose Reyes. The Cardinals had the win taken out of them.

"We were stunned," said Lance Berkman, who once again finished without any RBIs. The switch-hitting slugger has managed just one of them during the postseason. "We thought we were good. Edwin was doing great, and we were playing good defense behind him."

Berkman was the one to score the lone Cardinal run, as he reached third on two errors after hitting a short chopper in front of the plate. Josh Thole's throw sailed over Daniel Murphy's head, and Lucas Duda was unable to pick the ball up in right field. Matt Holliday grounded out after that, but Freese lined a single to center field, scoring Berkman.



After Fernando Salas finished the ninth on the mound, the Cardinals couldn't find a way to get to either Bobby Parnell or Taylor Tankersley, who took the win. Marc Rzepczynski did a good job in the tenth, and managed to retire one batter in the eleventh, but then Jason Bay hit a double between Jon Jay and Allen Craig, and Ronny Paulino, who had taken Thole's place behind home plate, raced around from first to score the game winning run.

"It was just that one pitch," the left-handed reliever said of the hit. "That was the only big mistake I made."

La Russa also had kind words for the player that the Cardinals traded for in the big deal that sent prized outfielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto.

"He did a good job out there today. His only miss in location was the one that Bay hit that double off of. I still have utmost confidence in him."

With the series now tied at one, the next three games in St. Louis are extremely important. The Cardinals would love to finish the series at home, without having to travel to New York once more, but the Mets are no team to play around with.

"They had a better record than we did in the regular season," said La Russa. "Truth to be told, it feels like we are the Wild Card team here. Not them."

On the AL side of things, the New York Yankees are going from win to win. They swept the Texas Rangers in the Division Series, and now hold a 2-0 lead over the AL Wild Card, the Boston Red Sox. The Evil Empire of baseball looks like it's heading to yet another World Series appearance.

In Tuesday's game three, the Cardinals turn back to ace Chris Carpenter and ask him to make his third start of the postseason. The Mets will likely start Jon Niese.

"We're thinking that Carp goes first, and after that it's Kyle Lohse and then the last game at Busch goes to Jaime (Garcia)," La Russa said.

Player of the Game


Mike Pelfrey - 8.0 IP, 5 H, 4 K

Cardinals at Mets |
Oct 9, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
St. Louis (4-3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	0
New York (4-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	11	2
W: Taylor Tankersley (1-0) L: Marc Rzepczynski (0-1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			STL	NYM
STL	9	Freese lined to center for a single. Berkman scores.	1	0
NYM	9	Wright lined to center for a single. Reyes scores.	1	1
NYM	11	Bay doubled to center. Paulino scores.	1	2

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	.125
Schumaker, 2B	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	.290
Berkman, 1B	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	.276
Holliday, LF	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	.469
Freese, 3B	4	0	1	1	0	1	0	.192
Craig, RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.379
Molina, C	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.280
Jay, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.276
Jackson, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Motte, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Salas, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Theriot, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Rzepczynski, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	39	1	7	1	0	4	0
BATTING: 2B: A. Craig (3) RBI: D. Freese (3) SAC: E. Jackson GIDP: L. Berkman
BASERUNNING: SB: R. Furcal (3)

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Reyes, SS	5	1	1	0	0	1	0	.280
Thole, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.389
Pridie, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Paulino, C	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.250
Wright, 3B	5	0	2	1	0	2	0	.217
Bay, LF	5	0	2	1	0	1	0	.231
Pagan, CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.348
Murphy, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.150
Duda, RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.176
Castillo, 2B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.333
Pelfrey, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Nieuwenhuis, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Carrasco, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Parnell, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Hairston, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.571
Tankersley, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	40	2	11	2	0	7	0
BATTING: 2B: J. Bay 2 (2) RBI: D. Wright (1), J. Bay (4) GIDP: K. Nieuwenhuis, A. Pagan
FIELDING: E: J. Thole (Throwing, 1), L. Duda (Fielding, 1)

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
E. Jackson	8.0	6	1	1	0	6	0	4.05
J. Motte (BS, 1)	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
F. Salas	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.50
M. Rzepczynski (L, 0-1)	1.1	4	1	1	0	1	0	2.08
TEAM TOTALS	10.1	11	2	2	0	7	0

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
M. Pelfrey	8.0	5	0	0	0	4	0	2.57
D. Carraso	0.1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
B. Parnell	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.75
T. Tankersley (W, 1-0)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	11.0	7	1	0	0	4	0

[mockme]

Runs hard to come by once again, but Cards come out on top 2-1
BY JOE STRAUSS | Tuesday, October 11, 2011

ST. LOUIS • Another 2-1 score in the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Mets ended up being in the Cardinals' favor this time around. Offense has been extremely hard to come by in the series, and pretty much ever since Albert Pujols got injured, for the Redbirds. Despite that, they've made their way this far, thanks to extremely good pitching.

That pitching was on display today as well, as Chris Carpenter hurled through seven innings of one-run ball. Carpenter worked himself to trouble fairly often, giving up ten base hits, but also managed to work out of it, save for that one run. Arthur Rhodes and Jason Motte were flawless out of the bullpen, as Motte earned his third save of the postseason.

"It's a cause for concern," manager Tony La Russa said of the run-scoring problem. "Luckily, we've been able to win thus far thanks to our pitching. But at some point you have to start scoring. We've had a few games where we have shown what we are capable of offensively, but most of the time we rely too heavily on our pitchers to keep the opposition scoreless. That can't happen every day."

Allen Craig was the offensive spark plug for the Redbirds, batting three-for-four with two doubles and an RBI. He also came around to score on a Ryan Theriot groundout to third base. Craig, who had his troubles early in the playoffs, has recently become one of the few reliable offensive performers.

"It was nerves, at first," the outfielder told the press. "But once I got used to it, the pressure, it doesn't feel so much different from a regular season game. I mean, there's much more at stake, but it's still baseball."



The Cardinals now lead the series 2-1, and if they can get the win behind Kyle Lohse tomorrow, they would have a chance to end it at home as Jaime Garcia makes his second start of the series in game five.

"It would be great to clinch it at home," said Lance Berkman, who has become somewhat of a voice of the team. "The sooner we can clinch it, the better. The Yankees (up 3-1 to Boston in the ALCS) look like they're going to take it quickly, so we want our time to rest up as well.

Of course, first we have to make it there (the World Series)."

The Yankees have certainly been the most overpowering of the playoff teams so far, and whichever of these two NL teams makes it to the World Series will have their work cut out against them, unless Boston makes a comeback in the series.

As Lohse prepares for his start tomorrow, both him and La Russa had very little to say to the media regarding the game.

"I'm just going to go out there, pitch like I usually do, and things will work out somehow," the pitcher said.

La Russa said of the game: "We have confidence in our pitching, and if we can just find the bats I don't see any problem with our playing. We've played good defense, haven't committed errors... we're in good shape."

Player of the Game


Chris Carpenter - 7.0 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 7 K

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals
Oct 11, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (4-3)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	11	0
St. Louis (5-3)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	X	2	9	0
W: Chris Carpenter (2-0) L: Jon Niese (1-1) S: Jason Motte (3)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			NYM	STL
STL	4	Craig doubled to center. Berkman scores.	0	1
STL	4	Theriot grounded out to 3B. Craig scores.	0	2
NYM	6	Duda hit a sacrifice fly to LF. Pagan scores.	1	2

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Reyes, SS	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	.233
Thole, C	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	.348
Wright, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.259
Bay, LF	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	.200
Pagan, CF	4	1	3	0	0	0	0	.407
Murphy, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.208
Duda, RF	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	.158
Paulino, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333
Pridie, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Castillo, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.320
Niese, P	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.167
Acosta, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Hairston, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.500
TEAM TOTALS	37	1	11	1	0	8	0
BATTING: 2B: R. Paulino (1), A. Pagan (3) RBI: L. Duda (2) SF: L. Duda
BASERUNNING: SB: A. Pagan (1)

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.139
Freese, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
Rhodes, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Motte, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Holliday, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.444
Berkman, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.303
Craig, RF	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.424
Molina, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.241
Theriot, 2B	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.222
Jay, CF	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	.290
Patterson, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Carpenter, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Descalso, PH-3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286
TEAM TOTALS	33	2	9	2	1	2	0
BATTING: 2B: R. Furcal (1), L. Berkman (4), A. Craig 2 (5) RBI: R. Theriot (2), A. Craig (3)

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
J. Niese (L, 1-1)	6.1	8	2	2	1	2	0	1.29
M. Acosta	1.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	8.0	9	2	2	1	2	0

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
C. Carpenter (W, 2-0)	7.0	10	1	1	0	7	0	1.33
A. Rhodes (H, 2)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
J. Motte (S, 3)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	11	1	1	0	8	0

[mockme]

Game 4 goes to Mets, series won't be finished in St. Louis
BY JOE STRAUSS | Wednesday, October 12, 2011

ST. LOUIS • In the postseason, things rarely go as planned.

The Cardinals' plan was to take all three games at home against the Mets in the NLCS, and have a longer time to rest before the World Series. Everything looked good yesterday, when Chris Carpenter held the Mets to just one run, and the Cardinals came out on top.

Today, the Cardinals scored the same amount of runs as yesterday. Two.

This time it wasn't enough.

Kyle Lohse didn't do a bad job on the mound, as he pitched six innings. He only allowed runs in one inning, and that was three in the fourth. The Cardinals' offensive woes that have been a cause for concern for a long time now caused them to lose this game.

"You can't expect to win a game when you score only two runs," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's not like we don't hit the ball. We do get on base. We just can't string hits together and score runs."

It certainly looks like the Cardinals are too reliant on the extra-base hit. Matt Holliday's two doubles drove in Lance Berkman twice to score both of the runs today. That means four of the eleven hits resulted in runs. Not good enough.

"It's either double followed by a double or triple and a single. Or a single and an extra-base hit. We need to be able to score even with just singles. It can't be like it has been so far. We hit a single, then either ground into a double play, or hit a fly ball or something," said La Russa.



Rafael Furcal's abysmal performance on offense continued. The shortstop is hitting just .125 in the playoffs, and if it wasn't for his good defensive effort, he might have been benched for either Daniel Descalso or Ryan Theriot before this game. Today he was also replaced by Descalso in an effort to jump-start the offense.

"He's not hitting well. He makes contact, so it seems like he's seeing the ball. He just can't hit it past the infield," said hitting coach Mark McGwire.

Cardinals' all-time saves leader Jason Isringhausen closed out the game for the Mets.

In tomorrow's game five Jaime Garcia will make his second start of the series for the Cardinals, while the Mets turn to R.A. Dickey. Garcia did a magnificent job in game one, pitching through seven scoreless innings.

Player of the Game


Jason Isringhausen - 1.0 IP, 2 K, S

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals
Oct 12, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York ()	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	0
St. Louis ()	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	11	1
W: Dillon Gee (2-1) L: Kyle Lohse (1-1) S: Jason Isringhausen (3)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			NYM	STL
STL	1	Holliday doubled to center. Berkman scores.	0	1
STL	3	Holliday doubled to 2B. Berkman scores.	0	2
NYM	4	Castillo doubled to 1B. Murphy scores.	1	2
NYM	4	Gee lined to center for a single. Duda scores. Castillo scores.	3	2

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Reyes, SS	5	0	2	0	0	1	0	.257
Thole, C	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.346
Wright, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.226
Bay, LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.176
Pagan, CF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.355
Murphy, 1B	4	1	0	0	0	1	0	.179
Duda, RF	4	1	3	0	0	0	0	.267
Castillo, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	.345
Gee, P	3	0	1	2	0	0	0	.375
Carrasco, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Paulino, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.300
Isringhausen, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	36	3	9	3	1	5	0
BATTING: 2B: L. Castillo 2 (3), L. Duda (1) RBI: D. Gee 2 (2), L. Castillo (6) GIDP: D. Wright
BASERUNNING: SB: J. Reyes (4)

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.125
Sanchez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Rzepczynski, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Theriot, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.200
Schumaker, 2B	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	.278
Berkman, 1B	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	.324
Holliday, LF	4	0	3	2	0	1	0	.475
Freese, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.176
Craig, RF	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.378
Molina, C	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.273
Jay, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.257
Lohse, P	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	.500
Descalso, PH-SS	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.222
TEAM TOTALS	38	2	11	2	0	6	0
BATTING: 2B: M. Holliday 2 (5), L. Berkman 2 (6) 3B: M. Holliday (2) RBI: M. Holliday 2 (7) GIDP: L. Berkman
FIELDING: E: D. Freese (Throwing, 1)

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
D. Gee (W, 2-1)	6.2	11	2	2	0	3	0	2.89
D. Carrasco (H, 3)	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
J. Isringhausen (S, 3)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	11	2	2	0	6	0
PITCHING: WP: D. Gee (1)

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
K. Lohse (L, 1-1)	6.0	9	3	2	0	1	0	3.00
E. Sanchez	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
M. Rzepczynski	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1.42
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	9	3	2	1	5	0

[mockme]

Mets win Game 5, Cards must win in New York
BY JOE STRAUSS | Thursday, October 13, 2011

ST. LOUIS • Players and fans alike left Busch Stadium with a look of disbelief after tonight's game five of the National League Championship Series. Jaime Garcia, who had a flawless start against the Mets in game one, allowed five runs in as many innings, and the Cardinals lost 7-5 after a ninth inning rally was stopped at two runs by St. Louis' all-time saves leader, Jason Isringhausen.

"Losing two out of three at home in a playoff series is inexcusable. You can't do that," said manager Tony La Russa, as the series heads back to New York for game six and a possible game seven. "We've been talking about winning this at home, taking our time to rest... we forgot that it's a pretty good baseball team that we're playing against. And it cost us."

The Mets took off running as they scored three runs off of Garcia in the first three innings. Outfielder Angel Pagan had a huge day, going three-for-five with an RBI and two runs scored. The Cardinals got their first run in the third, when Jon Jay launched a solo home run to right field. Jay was two-for-four with three RBIs.



"It doesn't matter how well I played," the young center fielder said. "We lost. We have to go back to New York and win two games there. That's not easy to do."

David Freese came close to tying it in the fourth, as he crushed R.A. Dickey's pitch toward the left field stands. The ball ran out of steam toward the end, and Freese had to settle for an RBI double that scored Matt Holliday from first.

"That would've been a big momentum shift," said La Russa. "It was just a bit of bad luck. He (Freese) really squared that ball up."

Taking a 7-3 lead into the ninth, the Mets didn't turn to Isringhausen right away. Instead they started off with Tim Byrdak, followed by Ryota Igarashi, before going to Isringhausen, who then retired two batters after allowing an RBI base hit to Jay. The runs were put on Byrdak's ERA tally.

"We had something good going, but then they turned to Isringhausen. He has our number right now," said Lance Berkman.

The Cardinals will turn to Edwin Jackson in game six, and then Chris Carpenter in game seven if they're able to go that far. Meanwhile, the Mets start Mike Pelfrey on Saturday and Jon in the possible game seven it will be Jon Niese taking the mound.

Player of the Game


Angel Pagan - 3-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals
Oct 13, 2011	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York ()	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	2	0	7	12	0
St. Louis ()	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	2	5	11	0
W: R.A. Dickey (1-0) L: Jaime Garcia (1-1) S: Jason Isringhausen (4)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			NYM	STL
NYM	1	Pagan doubled to center. Reyes scores.	1	0
NYM	1	Bay grounded out to 1B. Pagan scores.	2	0
NYM	3	Wright grounded to center for a single. Reyes scores.	3	0
STL	3	Jay homered to right.	3	1
STL	4	Freese doubled to left. Holliday scores.	3	2
NYM	5	Wright doubled to 3B. Pagan scores.	4	2
NYM	5	Paulino lined to center for a single. Wright scores.	5	2
STL	5	Descalso homered to right.	5	3
NYM	8	Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to CF. Paulino scores.	6	3
NYM	8	Castillo hit a sacrifice fly to CF. Hairston scores.	7	3
STL	9	Jay lined to center for a single. Freese scores. Craig scores.	7	5

New York Mets
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Reyes, SS	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	.275
Pagan, RF	5	2	3	1	0	0	0	.389
Wright, 3B	5	1	2	2	0	2	0	.250
Bay, LF	4	0	0	1	0	1	0	.158
Paulino, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.357
Hairston, CF	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.500
Murphy, 1B	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	.161
Castillo, 2B	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	.344
Dickey, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Tankersley, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Thole, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Byrdak, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Igarashi, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Isringhausen, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	36	7	12	7	0	5	0
BATTING: 2B: D. Wright (1), S. Hairston (4), A. Pagan 2 (5) RBI: D. Wright 2 (3), L. Castillo (7), D. Murphy (2), R. Paulino (4), J. Bay (5), A. Pagan (2) SF: L. Castillo, D. Murphy SAC: R. Dickey

St. Louis Cardinals
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Furcal, SS	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.136
Schumaker, 2B	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.256
Rzepczynski, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Boggs, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Dotel, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Theriot, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.182
Salas, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Berkman, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.341
Holliday, LF	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	.455
Freese, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.211
Craig, RF	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.366
Molina, C	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.270
Jay, CF	4	1	2	3	0	1	1	.282
Garcia, P	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Descalso, PH-2B	3	1	1	1	0	1	1	.250
TEAM TOTALS	36	5	11	5	0	7	2
BATTING: 2B: D. Freese (1) HR: D. Descalso (2), J. Jay (1) RBI: D. Descalso (2), J. Jay 3 (7), D. Freese (4) GIDP: M. Holliday, D. Descalso
BASERUNNING: SB: R. Furcal (4)

New York Mets
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
R. Dickey (W, 1-0)	6.0	7	3	3	0	5	2	4.50
T. Tankersley (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
T. Byrdak	1.0	3	2	2	0	0	0	16.20
R. Igarashi (H, 2)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.50
J. Isringhausen (S, 4)	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	11	5	5	0	7	2

St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
J. Garcia (L, 1-1)	5.0	9	5	5	0	1	0	4.00
M. Rzepczynski	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1.23
M. Boggs	1.0	2	2	2	0	2	0	10.13
O. Dotel	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.50
F. Salas	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	12	7	7	0	5	0