GDT 10/12/11-Brewers (Gallardo) @ Cards (Carpenter) 7:05 CDT
Posted: October 12 11, 12:58 am
Milwaukee
(100-69) at St. Louis
(94-75)
October 12, 2011
8:05 PM ET, 7:05 PM CT, 6:05 PM MT, 5:05 PM PT
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: TBS
RADIO: KMOX 1120, ESPN RADIO


Series tied 1-1


Y. Gallardo (17-10, 3.52) C. Carpenter (11-9, 3.45)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview?gid=311012124
Season Series tied at 9-9
2011 National League Championship Series
Milwaukee leads 1-0
Game 1: Sunday, October 9, 2011-Milwaukee 9, St. Louis 6
Game 2: Monday, October 10, 2011-St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3
Game 3: Wednesday, October 12, 2011-MIL (Gallardo) @ STL (Carpenter)-7:05 PM CDT
Game 4: Thursday, October 13, 2011-MIL (Wolf) @ STL (Lohse)-7:05 PM CDT
Game 5: Friday, October 14, 2011-MIL (Grienke) @ STL (Garcia)-7:05 PM CDT-if necessary
Game 6: Sunday October 16, 2011-STL (Jackson) @ MIL (Marcum)-3:05 PM CDT-if necessary
Game 7: Monday October 17, 2011-STL (Carpenter) @ MIL (Gallardo) -7:05 PM CDT-if necessary


Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Batting Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Pitching Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Fielding Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Batting Splits
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Pitching Splits
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals League Division Series Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 National League Championship Series Statistics
Last Game:
St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3
WP: L. Lynn (1-0)
LP: S. Marcum (0-1)
HR: STL - A. Pujols (1), D. Freese (2), MIL - P. Fielder (2), R. Weeks (1)
Series tied 1-1

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=311010108
Pujols powers Cards past Brewers to tie NLCS 1-all
(100-69) at St. Louis
(94-75)October 12, 2011
8:05 PM ET, 7:05 PM CT, 6:05 PM MT, 5:05 PM PT
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: TBS
RADIO: KMOX 1120, ESPN RADIO


Series tied 1-1


Y. Gallardo (17-10, 3.52) C. Carpenter (11-9, 3.45)

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview?gid=311012124
The Series:ST. LOUIS (AP) -- On the day he pitches, Chris Carpenter can be an ornery cuss. He prowls the mound, barks at hitters, and on at least one occasion has been known to invite a basepath collision.
Though just an 11-game winner for the St. Louis Cardinals, the 36-year-old right-hander has been in dominating mode since midseason. Apparently in the Milwaukee Brewers ' heads, too, heading into a matchup of aces in Game 3 of the NL championship series on Wednesday night against 17-game winner Yovani Gallardo .
"Yo has been our best guy, he loves being in these situations," Brewers leadoff man Corey Hart said. "It's our guy against their guy. Both are best guys." Carpenter mixed it up with volatile Nyjer Morgan in September and was labeled a "phony" by Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke prior to the series.
Nothing phony about the results.
Carpenter shut down Milwaukee twice in September, allowing only two runs in 17 innings to fuel an improbable drive for the NL wild-card berth. He's coming off a career signature moment, a three-hit shutout against Roy Halladay that eliminated the favored Phillies in the NL division series.
Carpenter has been clutch throughout his career in the postseason, too, going 6-2 with a 2.94 ERA. He pushed aside his friendship with Halladay for a 1-0 win in Game 5 of the NL division series, and will do his best to not allow Brewers animosity to affect him.
So, sorry, no feud. Just getting ready for a big start.
You can probably forget about the rally squirrel, too. The Cardinals are capitalizing on the craze, giving 40,000 rally towels featuring a squirrel, but by Tuesday afternoon team officials had caught four of the critters.
"Are we still talking about that?" St. Louis utilityman Allen Craig said. "People are laughing at us. We're talking about squirrels."
Carpenter dismisses Greinke's assessment, too.
"He doesn't know me, he's never been a teammate of mine, he can say what he wants," Carpenter said."Every year, and every round of the playoffs, there's distractions all around," he said. "It can go from family stuff, clubhouse stuff, opponents, friendships, whatever it is. If you can't eliminate that on your day, you're going to have extra trouble."
The Brewers were on their best behavior Tuesday, skirting the issue of bad blood.
Making a reference to Greinke's battle with social anxiety disorder, manager Ron Roenicke said the pitcher's comments were "no big deal" and told reporters, "You guys know Zack, and you know what he's going to say when you ask questions." Morgan, who flung a wad of chewing tobacco at Carpenter in a shouting match in early September and ridiculed the Cardinals on Twitter, had nothing to say. He politely declined interview requests before and after the Brewers' workout, saying only "Nope." "There's so much at stake, I don't think either team wants to get caught up in the drama," Milwaukee star Ryan Braun said. "It makes a good story, it's good for you guys. "Both teams are three games away from the World Series, that's what they're going to focus on."
Gallardo needs to ignore a different sort of clutter - his utter lack of success against the Cardinals.
The 25-year-old right-hander has been the Brewers' only consistent starter in the postseason, with an impressive 0.86 ERA in 21 innings, and is coming off a strong finishing stretch. He just can't beat the Cardinals, saddled with a 1-7 career record and 5.66 ERA after losing to them in consecutive starts in early September.
"Well, I can't explain it," Gallardo said. "I'm 1-7 against these guys but I try to forget about those things. I mean, even if goes the other way around, 7-1."
Dueling Carpenter is plenty for him now.
"We all know what kind of pitcher he is. He has great stuff and obviously he's had great success," Gallardo said. "It should be a pretty exciting game."I'm definitely going to have to bring my 'A' game."
But lest anyone think the Cardinals own Gallardo, there's this nugget: In his lone victory in May in St. Louis, he took a no-hit bid into the eighth.
The Cardinals knocked out Shaun Marcum in the fifth inning of a 12-3 blowout on Monday that evened the series at a game apiece. It's anticipated that Game 3 will be a much lower scoring affair with oddsmakers placing the over-under at seven runs.
Roenicke is considering starting Carlos Gomez , a better defensive player in center field than Morgan but not as dangerous at the plate. Morgan is 3 for 20 in the postseason.
"We may make a change or two," Roenicke said. "I think we'll probably stay the same, but we'll see."
The biggest bat for Carpenter to avoid might be Rickie Weeks , and not the Brewers' big two of Braun and Prince Fielder . Weeks is 6 for 10 with three homers and six RBIs.
Albert Pujols has the Brewers' full attention after a breakout Game 2 in which he homered with three doubles and five RBIs.
"We have to make good pitches," Roenicke said. "We have to make better pitches to him. We hope we get it to a better spot and we hope he misses."
Season Series tied at 9-9
2011 National League Championship Series
Milwaukee leads 1-0
Game 1: Sunday, October 9, 2011-Milwaukee 9, St. Louis 6
Game 2: Monday, October 10, 2011-St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3
Game 3: Wednesday, October 12, 2011-MIL (Gallardo) @ STL (Carpenter)-7:05 PM CDT
Game 4: Thursday, October 13, 2011-MIL (Wolf) @ STL (Lohse)-7:05 PM CDT
Game 5: Friday, October 14, 2011-MIL (Grienke) @ STL (Garcia)-7:05 PM CDT-if necessary
Game 6: Sunday October 16, 2011-STL (Jackson) @ MIL (Marcum)-3:05 PM CDT-if necessary
Game 7: Monday October 17, 2011-STL (Carpenter) @ MIL (Gallardo) -7:05 PM CDT-if necessary


Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Batting Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Pitching Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Fielding Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Batting Splits
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals Pitching Splits
Baseball Reference 2011 Cardinals League Division Series Statistics
Baseball Reference 2011 National League Championship Series Statistics
Last Game:
St. Louis 12, Milwaukee 3
WP: L. Lynn (1-0)
LP: S. Marcum (0-1)
HR: STL - A. Pujols (1), D. Freese (2), MIL - P. Fielder (2), R. Weeks (1)
Series tied 1-1

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=311010108
Pujols powers Cards past Brewers to tie NLCS 1-all
Pictures:By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Thanks to Albert Pujols ' monster night, the St. Louis Cardinals have done exactly what they set out to do in the NL championship series: Erase the Milwaukee Brewers ' home-field advantage.
After a 12-3 victory over the Brewers in Monday night's Game 2, the Cardinals are headed home tied in the series with ace Chris Carpenter taking the mound in Game 3. Things are looking a lot brighter than they did after blowing a big lead in the first game of the series.
"If you want to make it a competitive series, winning a game here, that's a big step in the right direction," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
Carpenter faces Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday night.
Sweep three games at home and the Cardinals move on to the World Series - but in a matchup of two intense NL Central rivals who have played each other evenly all season, nobody's counting on that.
"It's a pretty evenly matched series," Cardinals slugger Lance Berkman said. "I would imagine that this thing is a long way from being over."
It was a temporary setback for the Brewers, who remain confident despite some cracks developing in their starting pitching beyond Gallardo and Zack Greinke .
"Sometimes, you're going to get spanked a little bit," center fielder Nyjer Morgan said.
Pujols certainly spanked the Brewers' pitching in Game 2 - over and over and over. The three-time MVP went 4 for 5 with a home run, three doubles and five RBIs.
His big hits came one night after Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder bashed the Brewers to a 9-6, come-from-behind victory in Game 1. This time, the big bats couldn't bring Milwaukee back - even at Miller Park. Milwaukee was the best home team in the majors all season and the Brewers had won all four home games in the playoffs until Monday.
"It wasn't joyful," Fielder said. "You've just got to deal with it and move on."
Until Monday, Pujols hadn't been producing runs in this year's playoffs.
He was 1 for 4 in Sunday night's loss, hitting into a double play with runners on first and third in the seventh inning. A run scored on the play, but it seemed to be an indication that Pujols wasn't quite on his game. He came into Monday with only one RBI in the Cardinals' first six postseason games.
"You learn from the mistakes that you made," Pujols said. "Yesterday was just so tough. Going to bed, I was just thinking about some of the opportunities I had to help our ballclub win. I turned that page, knowing today was a new day."
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke , of course, has seen such things from Pujols before.
"The last time we saw them at their place he was swinging the bat just like this," Roenicke said. "You can't make mistakes to him. You have to hit spots. You have to keep it down in the zone. He doesn't miss too many mistakes."
Rickie Weeks hit a two-run homer in the fourth for Milwaukee, then was involved in a disputed play in the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, Weeks grounded into a double play, though replays showed he was safe.
Weeks - hobbled by the lingering effects of a midseason left ankle injury - appeared to beat the throw to first base and seemed upset when he was called out.
"Big part in the game, whether he's safe or out," Roenicke said. "You guys saw the replay. That was a big play."
But it didn't matter much after the Brewers gave up four runs in a backbreaking seventh inning. Fielder homered in the eighth, well after the outcome had been decided.
Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson went 4 1-3 innings, giving up Weeks' home run. Lance Lynn got the win.
It was a short and ugly start by Milwaukee's Shaun Marcum , who gave up five runs on seven hits in four innings and took the loss. Marcum, obtained in an offseason trade with Toronto, struggled mightily in the final month of the season. After a rough outing in Game 3 of the NL division series against Arizona, his place in the postseason rotation might come into question.
"We'll see how it goes," Roenicke said, adding later: "As far as I'm concerned right now he's pitching again."
Marcum says he feels fine physically. And despite the run totals he has given up lately, he doesn't feel like opposing teams are hitting him that hard - and he isn't getting discouraged.
"If I was giving up 15 home runs a game and getting hit all over the park, probably," Marcum said. "When you make pitches and they make jam jobs and bloopers that fall in, nothing you can do about it if you're still making pitches and locating."


























































MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 10: Nyjer Morgan #2 of the Milwaukee Brewers runs into the wall after he couldn't make a play on a double hit by Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the third inning against during Game Two of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park on October 10, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)
