Score and situation: The NLCS matchup that seemed destined to go seven games will do just that after the San Francisco Giants locked up a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.
Leading lads: Ryan Vogelsong set the tone for the game by striking out the side in the first inning. He would settle in for another six strong innings, allowing only one run on four hits, while setting a new career high — regular and postseason — with nine strikeouts. In all honesty, it was his most complete and dominant outing in 2012, and it obviously could not have come at a better time for San Francisco.
At the plate, Marco Scutaro continued his torrid postseason with his fifth two-hit game in the NLCS. He also scored two runs and knocked in two more with a two-out double in the second inning that extended the lead to 4-0. Pablo Sandoval then made it 5-0 with a run-scoring single and that was pretty much all she wrote for St. Louis.
Head hangers: Chris Carpenter didn't have it early on and the pivotal second inning unraveled on him so quickly that manager Mike Matheny had little choice but to ride it out. That ended up working out pretty well for St. Louis as Carpenter was able to finish out with two strong innings and conserve the bullpen a bit, but the damage was already done with Vogelsong dealing. In the end, Carpenter tossed four innings with five runs allowed, only two of which were earned. That matched his Game 2 totals in those three categories, and should St. Louis ultimately lose this series Carpenter's two disappointing starts could be viewed as the difference.
[Also: Matt Holliday's bad back scratches him from NLCS Game 6]
As indicated by the line, Carpenter's defense didn't help him out much. In the first inning, David Freese couldn't handle a ground ball clean enough to get a potential out at the plate. In the second, Pete Kozma botched Ryan Vogelsong's butcher boy grounder and was unable to record an out. That allowed one run to score and opened the door to a big four-run inning.
Key play: The error by Kozma put Carpenter and the Cardinals in a very tough spot. Had he at least been able to retire Vogelsong at first, it's possible, if not likely, the bleeding would have been stopped at one run. Instead, the inning continued beyond Angel Pagan's strikeout that followed, with Scutaro and Sandoval driving in the those three back-breaking unearned runs.
Interesting stat: According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, the Cardinals have allowed 12 unearned runs this postseason after allowing only 45 unearned runs during the entire regular season. That was the fewest for any team in baseball.
What they'll be talking about: The Giants resiliency shines through again as they won their fifth straight elimination game this postseason. They will put that streak on the line in the winner-take-all Game 7 against a Cardinals team that has won six straight elimination games over the past two postseasons. Something has to give on Monday night. Which side will it be?
What's next: Game 7 will take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco and has a scheduled first pitch of 8:07 ET. The starting pitching matchup will feature a rematch from the low scoring Game 3 with Kyle Lohse on the hill for St. Louis and Matt Cain taking the ball for San Francisco. The Cardinals won that night, 3-1.
It will be all hands on deck for both sides as Game 4 starters Tim Lincecum and Adam Wainwright will be available out of the bullpen.
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In a pretty significant three team trade that seemingly developed out of nowhere and reached a conclusion rather quickly, the Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired reliever Heath Bell, who struggled mightily in the first year of his three-year, $27 million contract with the Miami Marlins, while shipping away disappointing outfielder Chris Young to the Oakland A's.
In recent months we've had a pretty close eye on the Arizona Diamondbacks television booth due to the unusual circumstances surrounding broadcasters Daron Sutton and Mark Grace.
Score and situation: The St. Louis Cardinals took command of the NLCS and put themselves one win away from a World Series return with an overpowering 8-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.
Key play: The botched play at the plate in the fifth inning was chaotic and seemed to be the dagger for San Francisco. Center fielder Angel Pagan did a nice job keeping Matt Holliday's frozen rope single in front of him and started the process of what should have been an out at home. Unfortunately, Brandon Crawford's relay throw was in the grass and catcher Hector Sanchez went for the tag before securing the ball, allowing it to trickle away. Carpenter was dead to rights if the play was executed, but as it was he touched home and Holliday moved into scoring position himself setting up another Cardinal run.
Score and situation: The St. Louis Cardinals came out swinging in Sunday night's NLCS opener — sending Madison Bumgarner to the showers in the fourth inning — and then rode their bullpen to a 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Score and situation: The Detroit Tigers walked the tightrope early and then nearly saw the entire game slip away thanks to Jose Valverde's ninth inning meltdown. Yet somehow, someway, they averted a complete disaster escaped with a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees in 12 innings on Saturday night in the Bronx.
Key play: For the first 8 1/2 innings, the biggest play in the game was a missed call by first base umpire Rob Drake in the second inning that cost the Yankees at least one run, and potentially many more as New York's inning would have continued with the bases still loaded. That changed, however, when Raul Ibanez connected for his game-tying home run. And then it changed again in the 12th when Young doubled past a diving Nick Swisher in right field.
A scary scene played out at AT&T Park on Saturday afternoon during what should have a quiet and laid back batting practice session for the San Francisco Giants as they prepare for Game 1 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Score and situation: The St. Louis Cardinals world championship defense continues after they rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Washington put on an offensive clinic early on, scoring six of their runs in the first three innings, but the Cardinals simply refused to go away, chipping away one by one until breaking through against Drew Storen for four runs in the ninth to win it 9-7.
Head hangers: Attempting to pitch for the third straight day, Drew Storen was unable to muster the effectiveness he needed to silence the Cardinals' bats in the ninth. He'll receive most of the attention, but it's important to remember Cy Young contender and 21-game winner Gio Gonzalez was the one handed a 6-0 lead, and he struggled to get through five innings. He ended up walking four and gave three of the runs back to St. Louis before Davey Johnson pulled the plug.
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