NLCS Game 6 Cardinals headed to World Se
Nobody saw this coming. The Cardinals spent the first five innings using Clayton Kershaw as a batting practice pitcher J.C. Jackson Jerseys as legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully said on the radio, they battered him from pillar to postand waltzed to a stunning 9-0 victory to clinch their fourth World Series appearance in the past 10 years.
Here is tonights Five by Five, a quick recap in which we try to figure out exactly what we just saw by looking at five key moments during the game for each team.
MORE: Stats | NLCS results | ALCS schedule | Must-see images
Onward . . .
For the visiting Dodgers . . .
1. Its hard to know which team should get this moment, but well go with the Dodgers. Its something positive, at least. LA outfielder Scott Van Slyke's standoff with Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly leading up to the first pitch was an awesome moment of levity before what everyone thought would be an intense game.
Neither player budged from his spot in foul territory after the national anthem until home plate umpire Greg Gibson practically chased them off the field.
Kelly took a step toward the dugout first, but he was all the way out with his feet on the gra s, whereas Van Slyke was only a foot or two out of the dugout. So who won? Depends on what the rules were. But in the larger picture, we all won. It was such an amusing moment that even Cardinals manager Mike Matheny couldnt contain a smile.
2. Clayton Kershaw had an unimaginable third inning, but he was just nasty in snuffing out a first-inning rally. After Carlos Beltran laced a one-out double, Kershaw struck out Matt Holliday with an unhittable slider that dived out of the strike zone, then retired MVP candidate Yadier Molina on a broken-bat grounder to second base. It was the second time in as many starts that Kershaw held the Cardinals scorele s in the first inning despite allowing an extra-base hit with fewer than two outs.
3. The third inning was a disaster for the Dodgers, and it wasnt just about Kershaws inability to mi s bats. Beltrans single went off second baseman Mark Ellis glove, allowing Matt Carpenter to score from second. Yes, Ellis was diving and getting Beltran out would have been an incredible play, but this deep in October, he has to at least knock that down. If he does, Carpenter Los Angeles Chargers Pet Gear stays at third and Beltran stays at first, instead of Carpenter scoring and Beltran going to second on an ill-advised, off-balance throw home by right fielder Yasiel Puig. Because Beltran then scored on a single by Yadier Molina, instead of advancing first to second or first to third.
4. Kershaw retired the Cardinals in order in the fourth, but St. Louis chased him in the fifth inning without him retiring a batter. Molina and Freese singled to start the frame, and Matt Adams opposite-field double into the left-field corner was the end of Kershaws night.
All told, he threw 98 pitches in four-plus innings, allowed 10 hits, seven runs (both Freese and Adams scored after he left the game) and two walks (one intentional), while striking out five. This was easily his worst outing of the season. He lasted at least five innings in his 33 regular-season starts and never allowed more than five runs in a game.
5. Puigs final at-bat was symbolic of his entire night. He struck out on three pitches, taking an 83-mph curveball from Carlos Martinez for strike three. He finished 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, and two errors in the field. Puig is going to be a star for the Dodgers for a long, long time, but this isnt a night hell remember fondly.
For the host Cardinals . . .
1. Carpenter has been mired in an awful slump through most of October, but hed shown recent signs of finding his rhythm at the plate. In the third inning Friday, he came through with the best at-bat of his career. He fouled off eight pitches from Kershaw, and then on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, he laced a one-out double into the right-field corner. That hit opened the floodgates against Kershaw, which hardly seemed po sible.
2. The Cardinals forced Kershaw to throw 48 pitches in that third inning. Even if you throw Carpenters contribution away, thats still an amazing 37 pitches for a hurler who will win the 2013 Cy Young award. Carpenter, Beltran, Molina, David Freese and Shane Robinson all came up with hits, and Adams drew a walk. Robinsons hit was the back-breaker, a two-out single to right field (his Ty Long Jerseys second hit of the night) with the bases loaded. That chased home Molina and Freese to put the Cardinals ahead 4-0.
3. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was brilliant, again. Carl Crawford led off the game with an infield single, but was retired on a double play by No. 2 hitter Ellis. Crawford led off the fourth with a walk, but Wacha retired Ellis, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez on three pop-ups, and Crawford never made it to second base. A.J. Ellis led off the sixth with a double, but Wacha struck out pinch hitter Skip Schumaker, retired Crawford on a lineout and got Mark Ellis to ground out to second. A.J, Ellis never made it to third.
Wacha finished with seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five. His postseason ERA is now 0.43 in three starts covering 21 innings against the Pirates and Dodgers.
4. Robinson staked his claim to the center-field job with an impre sive performance Friday. He was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Those runs he drove home agianst Kershaw in the third broke the game open.
Jon Jay, the player he replaced in center, was just 3-for-17 in the first five games of the NLCS (he singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth), after going 3-for-16 Los Angeles Chargers Home Office in the NLDS against the Pirates. That spot has been Jays all season, but Robinson has at least worked his way into the conversation for the World Series.
5. The realization that the Cardinals wouldnt squander a 3-1 NLCS for the second consecutive season probably settled over the crowd of 46,899 sometime during the fifth inning, when the home team was chasing Kershaw from the game.
They blew 3-1 NLCS leads in 1996 and 2011, and in those six potential clinching games, they were outscored 52-2. After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles this year and facing the prospect of facing the eventual Cy Young winner in Kershaw, there were some nerves among the Cardinals fans. The nine-run lead by the end of the fifth helped ease those concerns.
Nobody saw this coming. The Cardinals spent the first five innings using Clayton Kershaw as a batting practice pitcher J.C. Jackson Jerseys as legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully said on the radio, they battered him from pillar to postand waltzed to a stunning 9-0 victory to clinch their fourth World Series appearance in the past 10 years.
Here is tonights Five by Five, a quick recap in which we try to figure out exactly what we just saw by looking at five key moments during the game for each team.
MORE: Stats | NLCS results | ALCS schedule | Must-see images
Onward . . .
For the visiting Dodgers . . .
1. Its hard to know which team should get this moment, but well go with the Dodgers. Its something positive, at least. LA outfielder Scott Van Slyke’s standoff with Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly leading up to the first pitch was an awesome moment of levity before what everyone thought would be an intense game.
Neither player budged from his spot in foul territory after the national anthem until home plate umpire Greg Gibson practically chased them off the field.
Kelly took a step toward the dugout first, but he was all the way out with his feet on the gra s, whereas Van Slyke was only a foot or two out of the dugout. So who won? Depends on what the rules were. But in the larger picture, we all won. It was such an amusing moment that even Cardinals manager Mike Matheny couldnt contain a smile.
2. Clayton Kershaw had an unimaginable third inning, but he was just nasty in snuffing out a first-inning rally. After Carlos Beltran laced a one-out double, Kershaw struck out Matt Holliday with an unhittable slider that dived out of the strike zone, then retired MVP candidate Yadier Molina on a broken-bat grounder to second base. It was the second time in as many starts that Kershaw held the Cardinals scorele s in the first inning despite allowing an extra-base hit with fewer than two outs.
3. The third inning was a disaster for the Dodgers, and it wasnt just about Kershaws inability to mi s bats. Beltrans single went off second baseman Mark Ellis glove, allowing Matt Carpenter to score from second. Yes, Ellis was diving and getting Beltran out would have been an incredible play, but this deep in October, he has to at least knock that down. If he does, Carpenter Los Angeles Chargers Pet Gear stays at third and Beltran stays at first, instead of Carpenter scoring and Beltran going to second on an ill-advised, off-balance throw home by right fielder Yasiel Puig. Because Beltran then scored on a single by Yadier Molina, instead of advancing first to second or first to third.
4. Kershaw retired the Cardinals in order in the fourth, but St. Louis chased him in the fifth inning without him retiring a batter. Molina and Freese singled to start the frame, and Matt Adams opposite-field double into the left-field corner was the end of Kershaws night.
All told, he threw 98 pitches in four-plus innings, allowed 10 hits, seven runs (both Freese and Adams scored after he left the game) and two walks (one intentional), while striking out five. This was easily his worst outing of the season. He lasted at least five innings in his 33 regular-season starts and never allowed more than five runs in a game.
5. Puigs final at-bat was symbolic of his entire night. He struck out on three pitches, taking an 83-mph curveball from Carlos Martinez for strike three. He finished 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, and two errors in the field. Puig is going to be a star for the Dodgers for a long, long time, but this isnt a night hell remember fondly.
For the host Cardinals . . .
1. Carpenter has been mired in an awful slump through most of October, but hed shown recent signs of finding his rhythm at the plate. In the third inning Friday, he came through with the best at-bat of his career. He fouled off eight pitches from Kershaw, and then on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, he laced a one-out double into the right-field corner. That hit opened the floodgates against Kershaw, which hardly seemed po sible.
2. The Cardinals forced Kershaw to throw 48 pitches in that third inning. Even if you throw Carpenters contribution away, thats still an amazing 37 pitches for a hurler who will win the 2013 Cy Young award. Carpenter, Beltran, Molina, David Freese and Shane Robinson all came up with hits, and Adams drew a walk. Robinsons hit was the back-breaker, a two-out single to right field (his Ty Long Jerseys second hit of the night) with the bases loaded. That chased home Molina and Freese to put the Cardinals ahead 4-0.
3. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was brilliant, again. Carl Crawford led off the game with an infield single, but was retired on a double play by No. 2 hitter Ellis. Crawford led off the fourth with a walk, but Wacha retired Ellis, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez on three pop-ups, and Crawford never made it to second base. A.J. Ellis led off the sixth with a double, but Wacha struck out pinch hitter Skip Schumaker, retired Crawford on a lineout and got Mark Ellis to ground out to second. A.J, Ellis never made it to third.
Wacha finished with seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out five. His postseason ERA is now 0.43 in three starts covering 21 innings against the Pirates and Dodgers.
4. Robinson staked his claim to the center-field job with an impre sive performance Friday. He was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Those runs he drove home agianst Kershaw in the third broke the game open.
Jon Jay, the player he replaced in center, was just 3-for-17 in the first five games of the NLCS (he singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth), after going 3-for-16 Los Angeles Chargers Home Office in the NLDS against the Pirates. That spot has been Jays all season, but Robinson has at least worked his way into the conversation for the World Series.
5. The realization that the Cardinals wouldnt squander a 3-1 NLCS for the second consecutive season probably settled over the crowd of 46,899 sometime during the fifth inning, when the home team was chasing Kershaw from the game.
They blew 3-1 NLCS leads in 1996 and 2011, and in those six potential clinching games, they were outscored 52-2. After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles this year and facing the prospect of facing the eventual Cy Young winner in Kershaw, there were some nerves among the Cardinals fans. The nine-run lead by the end of the fifth helped ease those concerns.
…