Cards fall in Game 1 of NLDS vs. LA
In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals played a very poor final two weeks of the regular season, nearly missing the playoffs. The team went 3-9 in their 12 games prior to the post-season, but went on to win 11 out of 16 playoff games and win the World Series.
Likewise, the Cardinals played poorly in the final games of this season. But many have hoped that St. Louis will again turn things around and be the surprise of the post-season at hand.
But unfortunately, the Cardinals’ playoff opener showed little evidence for this hope.
Game 1 of the 2009 National League Division Series between Central Division Champion Cardinals and the West Division champion Dodgers commenced Wednesday night in Los Angeles. And to the dismay of the St. Louis fans at Dodger Stadium, the game had a familiar look to it, a look that the Cardinals sported when they lost 8 of their final 10 games of the regular season.
The Cardinals fell behind early and were unable to come back. They hit well, but were unsuccessful in attempting to score runs. Only three times did the team get a hit in the 13 times a batter came to the plate with a runner in scoring position.
Possibly the Cardinals biggest problem was stranding men on base. Total, St. Louis left 14 on, 2 more than they ever did during the regular season. But ironically, Los Angeles did even worse, stranding 16 men. Combined, the two teams left 30 players on base, a post-season record.
St. Louis actually took the first lead of the game in the 1st inning. They loaded the bases with none out, but scored only once. Such was the Cardinals problem most of the night. Los Angeles scored twice in the bottom of the 1st on a two-run homerun by Matt Kemp, and St. Louis never recovered, losing by a score of 5-3.
Chris Carpenter started for the Cardinals and was given a tough night by the Dodgers. In the 5th innings he pitched, Los Angeles touched him for 4 runs on 9 hits. In addition, he walked two and hit a batter, suffering only his 2nd loss in 9 post-season starts.
Another Cardinal player who had a disappointing night was the 2009 National League MVP, Albert Pujols. He went 0 for 3 and was walked intentionally twice. Mark DeRosa on the other hand, had a fine night on the dish, going 3 for 5 with a double.
The loss means the Cardinals are down 0-1 in the best-of-5 series. They will try to turn things around again on Thursday when they take on the Dodgers beginning at 5:07 CT. Adam Wainwright will start for St. Louis against Clayton Kershaw for Los Angeles.
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