The St. Louis Cardinals proved resilient once again, staving off elimination and extending their series against the Philadelphia to game five. The clubs have Thursday off as they return to Philadelphia for Friday’s NLDS finale.
The Phillies once again jumped out to an early lead, scoring twice in the top of the first inning off of Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson. Chase Utley tripled home Jimmy Rollins and later scored on Hunter Pence’s RBI single.
Utley and Rollins continued their torrid playoff pace, as each posted multi-hit efforts. The pair has combined to go 15-29 with seven extra base hits and 11 runs scored this series. They are the only two regulars on the Phils to hold batting averages north of .267.
After his shaky start, Jackson was able to settle in nicely. The right-hander worked six strong innings, holding the Phillies to two runs on five hits while striking out five. Though Jackson’s dealt with control issues in the past, he only offered a single free pass to the Phillies, throwing 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes.
Jackson’s counterpart, Roy Oswalt, only allowed six hits over his six innings of work but three of them went for extra bases. David Freese was the big producer for St. Louis, driving in a pair of runs in the 4th and 6th innings. Freese gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead with his two run double and then used a two out homer in the 6th to put St. Louis up for good.
Philadelphia scored a run in the 8th to reduce the deficit to two, but Pence and Ryan Howard failed to extend the rally. Jason Motte came on to retire the Phillies in order to preserve the 5-3 victory.
Game five is scheduled for Friday night, and will pit former teammates against one another. Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter is set to face off against NL Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay, as their clubs vie for an NLCS berth.
For more on the Cardinals and Phillies, be sure to check out Redbird Rants and That Balls Outta Here.