Power propels Cardinals to within win of Fall Classic

Holliday, Robinson HRs, work by Lynn, 'pen give Cards 3-1 NLCS lead

October 15th, 2013

LOS ANGELES -- The St. Louis Cardinals leaned heavily on Matt Holliday in late September, riding his surge to a National League Central title. They needed his home run in Game 4 of the NL Division Series to help stave off elimination against the Pirates.

Silent in the NL Championship Series, Holliday picked an opportune time on Tuesday night to rediscover that power swing.

With his two-run homer capping a three-run third, Holliday helped move the Cardinals to the precipice of making their fourth World Series appearance in a 10-year span. Lance Lynn preserved the lead, and Shane Robinson later padded it, all leading to a 4-2 win over the Dodgers that put the Cards ahead, 3-1, in the best-of-seven NLCS.

"Right now, we've got no problem celebrating this one," manager Mike Matheny said. "Every one of these [wins] in the postseason are so tough to come by. We really don't get too much beyond what we have tomorrow, and [we] realize that we have to go out and play a good game. We've got to have the solid pitching and play a clean defense. [It was] a great move forward in that department tonight, much more characteristic of our club."

The Cardinals enjoyed the same 3-1 NLCS advantage in 2012, before watching the Giants roar back and outscore them 20-1 on their way to a World Series championship run. Redemption can be secured as early as Wednesday, when Joe Kelly, long the team's stopper, can play clincher at Dodger Stadium (3 p.m. CT on TBS).

"Just because you're up 3-1 doesn't mean anything. Nobody's going to roll over for you," said Daniel Descalso, who kick-started St. Louis' key three-run third inning. "That's a good ballclub they've got over there, and they're going to keep fighting. We can't relax. We've got to keep pushing, keep grinding. You don't want to have that feeling again of being up 3-1 and losing three games in a row."

Only twice before have the Cards held a 3-1 NLCS lead. Both times (2012 and 1996), they failed to move on to the World Series.

"We know what's at stake," Matt Carpenter said. "We know how hard it is to get one more win. Anything can happen in a series, as we experienced last year."

Though they sat in a favorable position coming into Game 4, the Redbirds were desperate for their offense to show up. The team had tallied only four runs through the first three games, while posting a miniscule batting average of .134.

Seeking a spark, Matheny swapped Pete Kozma for Descalso at shortstop. The move paid immediate dividends, too, as Descalso opened the third with a single. The top of St. Louis' order then finally found a way to capitalize.

Carpenter, 3-for-31 and without a postseason RBI, doubled to left-center to score Descalso from second. It was the first two-base hit by Carpenter -- who led the Majors with 55 doubles in the regular season -- in October. Two batters later, Holliday crushed Ricky Nolasco's first-pitch fastball over the Dodgers' bullpen.

"[Matt is a] big strong guy with a once-in-a-generation swing," David Freese said. "That's two series in a row that he's helped us out with a homer like that. The funny thing about this time of year, you could be hitless and then you could come through for the biggest hit of the series."

The blast, estimated at 426 feet, was the first home run hit by either team in the series. Holliday entered the game 12-for-26 in his career against Nolasco, who hadn't started a game since Sept. 25. The slugger came into that at-bat having learned from his first one, too.

After popping out in the first inning on an inside pitch, Holliday anticipated that Nolasco would come in on his hands again. Nolasco fed right into the approach.

"Have I hit further ones? Maybe," Holliday later remarked. "But not in that kind of situation."

Nolasco would be knocked out of the game after four innings. Lynn, on the other hand, would pitch into the sixth. He had a shutdown inning immediately after being staked to a 3-0 lead, but did slip in the fourth to let the Dodgers creep back to within one.

The 19-pitch frame opened with a double by Adrian Gonzalez, which Andre Ethier followed with a walk. Hot-shot rookie Yasiel Puig stepped in as the potential tying run and took exception when Lynn's first pitch was high and inside. Eventually, Puig won the battle by lining an RBI single to center.

A.J. Ellis' single drove home a second run before Lynn induced an inning-ending double play from pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker.
"Well, obviously, we had him on the ropes a little bit," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "But every time you get out of one of those, you get a chance to regroup."

Matheny stuck with Lynn until Puig's one-out single in the sixth, making this the deepest of Lynn's four career postseason starts. The righty had never previously been able to finish five innings. Reliever Seth Maness inherited the baserunner and did what the Cardinals leaned on him to do all season. He got the double play.

In total, the Cards' bullpen backed Lynn with 3 2/3 scoreless innings, lowering its postseason ERA to 1.44. Six of those outs were garnered by rookie Carlos Martinez, who, along with Kozma, also picked off the last runner (Nick Punto) the Dodgers advanced into scoring position. With L.A. trailing by two, Punto had doubled with one out in the seventh.

"I just saw Punto getting off, he had a walking lead, he took quite a few steps, so I ran in behind him and Carlos saw me," said Kozma, who entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth. "Carlos saw me at the right time. It's kind of a feeling play."

"That was a lonely place to be," Punto said afterward.

It was Robinson who provided the bullpen some wiggle room by following Holliday's lead with a home run to left field. Robinson's pinch-hit solo shot was the first hit in 11 career postseason at-bats for the reserve outfielder, who had just one plate appearance in the NLCS before Tuesday. He had just two home runs in 144 regular-season at-bats.

"Baseball-wise, it's up there definitely as one of the top moments," Robinson said. "Helping your team get a win in the NLCS is nice, especially with a home run, my first postseason hit. You couldn't really draw it up any better."

A day after looking sloppy in the field and sleepwalking at the plate, the Cardinals played a clean and crisp nine innings on Tuesday. The Dodgers like how their rotation now lines up with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw ready to go. To stop the Cards, however, they'll have to take three straight from a club that hasn't had a losing streak of that length since August.

"We know what's at stake," Jon Jay said. "We all know how difficult it is to get into the playoffs, and you never know when you're going to get this opportunity. So we've got to keep on playing hard and keep our foot on the pedal."

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com