Cards jump out to 6-0 lead on Giants, take Game 1
Frontrunners
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| The Cardinals' David Freese (23) is congratulated by Daniel Descalso (33) after Freese hit a two-run home run Sunday during the second inning of Game 1 of NLCS against the Giants in San Francisco. The Cardinals won 6-4. (David J. Phillip) |
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This time, Carlos Beltran, David Freese and the St. Louis Cardinals took a six-run – and held onto it, barely.
Beltran and Freese hit two-run homers and these wild, wild-card Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the NL championship series.
The defending World Series champions took an early 6-0 cushion and made it stand up. Only two nights earlier, the Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit, using a four-run rally in the ninth inning at Washington in the deciding Game 5 of the division series.
The St. Louis bullpen delivered with 5 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Lance Lynn was chased. Edward Mujica, the fifth St. Louis pitcher, struck out the side in order in the seventh for the win. Jason Motte finished for his second save of the postseason.
Beltran’s fourth-inning drive into the seats in left-center chased San Francisco starter Madison Bumgarner, who has been a far cry from the impressive pitcher he was during the 2010 World Series run.
It was Beltran’s 14th career postseason home run and third this October.
Tigers 3, Yankees 0: The Detroit Tigers got a big boost from Anibal Sanchez’s arm. They got a helping hand from an umpire, too.
The reward: a commanding 2-0 lead in the AL championship series, and a trip home with their ace ready to start.
Sanchez shut down a Yankees lineup minus injured Derek Jeter, Detroit scored twice after an admitted missed call by an ump and won without any extra-inning drama, beating New York.
“He was terrific,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “This is a tough place to pitch with a tough lineup and a short porch. And a whole bunch of left-handed hitters, it is not easy. That was quite a feat.”
New York starter Hiroki Kuroda pitched perfect ball into the sixth inning to keep pace with Sanchez. But Robinson Cano and the slumping Yankees hitters were no match for the 28-year-old right-hander a day after its captain broke his ankle in the 12th inning of a 6-4 loss.
Delmon Young gave Sanchez his first run of support in these playoffs with a fielder’s choice in the seventh. The Tigers then scored twice in the eighth after second base umpire Jeff Nelson missed a call on a two-out tag at second base. Yankees manager Joe Girardi argued, and was ejected on his 48th birthday.
