This game, which started at 4:07 CDT, strikes me as the first really important game of the playoffs. If the Cardinals can win here, they stand a good chance of knocking off the Phillies -- and that's a big deal, as the Phillies are by far the best team in the National League (and probably in all of baseball).
St. Louis caught a huge break with the starting time. They almost never start baseball games at 4 PM in the afternoon, and for a very good reason -- the batters can't see the ball. So, for all practical purposes, we are stuck with a 0-0 tie until visability improves. It's now 0-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. This means that St. Louis just has to be better than Philadelphia for four and a half innings, instead of nine innings. When you're the underdog, advantages of this type are enormous.
Still no score after 5 innings.
ReplyDeleteMike Shannon, who was doing Cardinal games on the radio when I was 9 years old, is still announcing for the Cardinals. And you know what? I never thought he was particularly good.
In the top of the 6th, the Phils get runners on 1st and 2d with two out, but St. Louis native Ryan Howard grounds out weakly to end the inning.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 7th, Ben Francisco comes in off the bench to pinch-hit for Cole Hamels. He slams a three-run homer over the left field wall, and the Phillies lead 3-0.
ReplyDeleteJimmie Rollins follows with a long double to center, and Fangraphs now shows that the Phillies have a 90 percent chance of winning this game.
The Cardinals get out of the inning without more damage, but that homer was a devastating blow.
ReplyDeleteNow that the players can see, we're getting more hitting. In the bottom of the 7th, the Cardinals put together a walk and two singles to make the score 3-1. But now they only have six outs left.
ReplyDeleteAs we start the top of the 8th, the Phillies have an 87 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteRyan Theriot leads off the bottom of the 8th with his fourth hit of the game. That will bring the tying run to the plate.
ReplyDeleteThe Phillies respond by bringing in Antonio Bastardo to pitch. He will face Nick Punto, who is pinch-hitting for St. Louis center fielder Jon Jay.
ReplyDeleteBastardo retires Punto, and now the Phillies are bringing in Brad Lidge, who always seems to face the Cardinals in the playoffs. Lidge will face Cardinal pinch-hitter Matt Holliday.
ReplyDeleteHolliday singles to left, and now the tying runs are on base. St. Louis will now send up the top of its order, starting with shortstop Rafael Furcal. Adrian Chambers goes in to run for Holliday.
ReplyDeleteNow the Phillies have only a 76 percent chance of victory.
Furcal singles to left, and the bases are loaded with one out.
ReplyDeleteThat's it for Lidge, who gave up two hits to two batters. The Phillies are bringing in Ryan Madson to pitch to Allen Craig, the St. Louis left fielder.
Now the Phillies have only a 64 percent chance of victory.
The Cardinals have 10 hits in this game, but only 1 run.
ReplyDeleteMadson is the Phillies' closer, so the Phils are going for it right here.
Madson gets Craig to ground into a double play and the inning is over!
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, Theriot should have tried to score from second on Furcal's single. I think he could have made it, and that would have made the score 3-2. But instead, the Cards trail 3-1 with only three outs left.
Now the Phillies have a 93 percent chance of victory.
Still 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th.
ReplyDeletePujols leads off with his fourth hit of the game -- a double. Lance Berkman comes to the plate.
The Phillies have an 81 percent chance of victory.
Berkman flies out to center. One out.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals have left 13 men on base in this game.
ReplyDeleteDavid Freese grounds out, with Pujols advancing to third.
ReplyDeleteThe ESPN color commentator (I have no idea who it is) claims that the Cardinal fans are not nearly as loud as the Philly fans would be in this situation.
The Cardinal fans just got louder. Yadier Molina singles to center. Pujols scores. It is now 3-2 with two outs in the ninth.
ReplyDeleteKyle Lohse comes in to pinch-run for Molina. Ryan Theriot -- who is 4 for 4 in this game -- comes to the plate.
ReplyDeleteThe Phillies still have a 91 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteThe three innings of this game that were played when the batters could see the ball were outstanding.
ReplyDeleteTheriot goes 4 for 5. He grounds out to Chase Utley at second, and the Phillies take a 3-2 win, and they lead the series two games to one.
ReplyDeleteWOW! That was great.
ReplyDeleteThere is a professional skill that is more valued at some companies than others and that is drinking the correct amount of beer at the correct times and with the correct other people and later talking about it only the correct amount. I suspect that Mike Shannon is among America's best at this professional skill.