PostCards: St. Louis Cardinals take a 2-0 lead over Los Angeles Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals will travel on a happy flight with a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Oct 11, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran (3) celebrates with teammates after hitting the game-winning single in the 13th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the National League Championship Series baseball game at Busch Stadium. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The early story of the series so far is Carlos Beltran, David Freese, and Michael Wacha. With Clayton Kershaw pitching this afternoon, the Cardinals had to win Game 1 against Zack Greinke. They won the game in 13 innings of play, much thanks to Beltran.

Lance Lynn may have been the pitcher of record when Beltran had his walk-off RBI to win the game but that win really goes to everyone for holding the Dodgers scoreless since the end of the third inning.

Just as important as the Cardinals pitching was, the Cardinals were able to shut down Yasiel Puig during Friday’s contest. The rookie went 0 for 6 at the plate.

On Saturday, it Wacha going up against Kershaw. The Cardinal rookie pitched 6.2 innings. He allowed 5 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 8 batters. Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal added another 5 strikeouts–the final 5 Dodgers for the day. They got Puig to go down on strikes another four times in the series.

Freese scored after advancing to third on a wild pitch. Going against Kershaw, it was a run that the Cardinals needed to get in order to win the game.

Saturday’s game was a must-win. The Cardinals did their job and now they have to finish the rest. With Adam Wainwright pitching on Monday and Lynn being the announced starter for Tuesday’s Game 4, Cardinal fans have got to feel some optimism about the series…but after what happened last year against the San Francisco Giants, we cannot just take it for granted.