The Cardiac Cardinals strike again!!
Down to their final home game of the series, the Cards had to win to stay alive and force the series back to Philadelphia. But we all know that by now. We also know that this team plays best when the chips are down. It’s not always pretty, but they seem to find a way to get it done.
Cards 5, Phillies 3
Edwin Jackson’s start wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure.
The sun played games with the outfielders early, and Jon Jay was blindsided by a drive to center field that got away (and turned into a triple). A double followed by a single, and the Phillies were up 2-0 on just five pitches. No outs. But, Jackson recovered, thanks to a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out. And after that, E-Jax slid comfortably into cruise control.
It helped that the Redbirds got themselves on the board early too. Berkman (after the TBS announcers spoke none to pleasantly about Lance letting the sun/shadows argument “get in his head” on Tuesday) drilled one off the outfield wall to get Busch Stadium hopping.
The noise level pumped back up again when David Freese — the hometown hero — blasted a double down the third base line in the fourth inning. Lance Berkman scored. And, showing the kind of aggression that wins championships, Matt Holliday (making his first start of the series) was waved around to score the go-ahead run.
The Redbirds played with that energy all game long. Not afraid. Just determined.
With a 3-2 lead in the sixth, David Freese stepped to the plate again. And the Phillies — who had fooled him in the first three — were burned by by Freese for the second time tonight. (Um, Freeser Burn, anyone? Lame? Maybe…) A two-run blast to straight away center scored Holliday and gave the bullpen all the cushion it needed.
It’s a good thing, too. A wild pitch by Fernando Salas in the eighth scored Michael Martinez, but that’s all the closer it would get.
Cards win 5-3 and head out for one more “happy flight” to Philly. Check back in the morning for more game four coverage.
