Matt Carpenter leads Cardinals to win over Kershaw, LA
By Jake Misener
Matt Carpenter homered and delivered a clutch, three-run double late to lift the St. Louis Cardinals over the Los Angeles Dodgers and National League Cy Young Award frontrunner Clayton Kershaw by a 10-9 final Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
St. Louis tallied first, but trailed from the third inning on until pouring on eight runs in the top of the seventh inning, chasing Kershaw from the game after 6 2/3 innings. The southpaw was hit for eight earned runs on eight hits, striking out 10. At one point, the southpaw set down a dozen straight St. Louis hitters, but the seventh inning proved to be too much.
A trio of singles by Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta and Yadier Molina opened up the top of the seventh for the Cardinals, and first baseman Matt Adams followed with an RBI single that moved everyone up 90 feet and pulled St. Louis within five at 8-3. Kershaw bounced back, striking out Pete Kozma for the first out of the inning but Jon Jay followed that up with another single. Oscar Taveras, who was announced as a pinch-hitter, then stepped to the plate, but struck out swinging for the second out of the inning.
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Carpenter then gave St. Louis its first lead since the third, clearing the bases with a three-run double that erased the Dodgers’ lead, replacing it with a 7-6 Cardinals’ advantage and ending Kershaw’s night. Pedro Baez entered the game in relief of the southpaw, and proceeded to walk Randal Grichuk, who homered off Kershaw in the first for the opening blow of the contest. Veteran outfielder Matt Holliday then drove home both Carpenter and Grichuk, as well as himself, with a three-run blast that broke things wide open – 10-6.
Los Angeles drew closer in the eighth when Adrian Gonzalez hit his eighth career postseason home run, a two-run shot to right-center field that pulled his club within two at 10-8. The Dodgers tallied one more run in the bottom of the ninth on a Dee Gordon RBI groundout, but St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal blew a 99 mph heater past Yasiel Puig to give the Cardinals a series-opening win.
St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright fared no better than his Los Angeles counterpart, lasting just 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits, while striking out five and walking one.
Carpenter led the St. Louis offense, driving in four – including a solo home run in the top of the sixth. The Dodgers scored two runs in three straight innings, thanks to RBI singles by Puig, Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp, a double by Carl Crawford and an A.J. Ellis two-run blast. The Los Angeles catcher went 4-for-5 to lead the Dodgers offensively.