BSI Postseason Recap: Carpenter, Lohse Put Cards Up 2-1

Along a common theme this postseason, yesterday’s Giants-Cardinals game was another low-scoring affair. One could see it from the start with the excellent pitching matchup of Matt Cain (16-5, 2.79) and Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86). Each starter tossed a pair of scoreless innings before both ran into a spot of trouble in the third inning. In the top of the inning, the Giants had what looked to be a great rally going– putting men on second and third with no outs. They scored a run on a Pablo Sandoval groundout and that would be it, though.

Oct 17, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Matt Carpenter (13) hits a two run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of game three of the 2012 NLCS at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals countered with a big inning of their own in the bottom half though. After two quick outs to start the frame, Jon Jay reached base and got to second with Matt Carpenter– who entered the game due to an injury to Carlos Beltran– at the plate. Carpenter delivered for the Cardinals, lifting a long home run to deep right field to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead with his first home run of the postseason.

Both pitchers settled down from that point on, with Cain going 6.2 innings and Lohse going 5.2 as the game wound down. However, the Cardinals had one rally left in them in the seventh, and they exercised it, loading the bases with one out. Shane Robinson delivered, grounding softly to second, allowing the run to score and make the lead 3-1. This was followed by a lengthy rain delay, but they would eventually finish up the Cardinals’ 3-1 win.