Redbirds Advance to NLCS, Winning Tight Series with LA

Game 1, October 3, 2014 at Los Angeles – Clayton Kershaw (1-0) was everything that a Cy Young caliber pitcher should be. The pitcher’s duel that never materialized in real life was present in this Action Baseball 2014 Playoff showdown. Kershaw went 8 innings, yielding just 1 run on 3 hits, while fanning a Gibson-like 14 batters. His mound opponent, Adam Wainwright, tossed just 6 innings, but likewise gave up just 1 run on 8 hits. St. Louis lit the scoreboard in the 1^st when Jhonny Peralta singled home Randal Grichuk. The score remained 1-0 visitors until the B6 when Hanley Ramirez singled in Yasiel Puig to tie it. Kershaw stayed on (he helped himself with 2 hits) while the Redbirds went to the bullpen. In the B8 the Dodgers tallied the winning run when Matt Kemp and Ramirez greeted Cardinals reliever Seth Maness (0-1) with back to back doubles. Kenley Jansen (1) cleaned it up the 9^th for a 2-1 LA victory.

Game 2, October 4, 2014 at Los Angeles – Matt Adams tripled in Jon Jay in the T10

to lift the Cardinals to a 4-3 win and send the series back to St. Louis tied at 1-all. Lance Lynn (6 IP) and Zack Geinke (7.1) were the starters, but they were long gone before this one was decided. LA grabbed a quick 2-0 lead with single runs in the 2^nd and 3^rd. Dee Gordon plated Juan Uribe with a single in the 2^nd. Kemp hit a long solo shot to center in the 3^rd. Grichuk’s 2-run bomb in the 7^th tied it up, 2-2. LA went up 3-2 on a solo blast from Ramirez in the B8. Jansen was called on again to save it for the Dodgers, but Peralta had other ideas, smacking a 2-1 offering over the LCF wall. That set the stage for Adam’s extra innings heroics. Pat Neshek (1-0) was credited with the win. Trevor Rosenthal (1) recorded the final two outs for the save.

Game 3, October 6, 2014 at St. Louis – Kolten Wong’s fly to right in the B9 was just deep enough for Peralta to beat Kemp’s throw as he raced home from third with the winning run in a thrilling 2-1 Cardinals victory. This was again another outstanding pitcher’s duel between Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers and John Lackey for the Redbirds.  Both teams exchanged runs in the 3^rd when Lackey mishandled Puig’s chopper to the mound, allowing Uribe to scamper home. St. Louis answered in the bottom of the frame when Grichuk singled in Wong. The clubs remained scoreless after that until Adam’s RBI triple in the 9^th. That made Pat Neshek (2-0) a winner again. Brian Wilson (0-1) was tagged with the loss.

Game 4, October 7, 2014 at St. Louis – Clayton Kershaw (2-0) started for LA on

3-days rest and was brilliant through 7 innings. He blanked the Cardinals on 3 hits and the Dodgers evened the series 2-2 with a 4-0 whitewash. A combination of Pedro Baez, Scott Elbert and Jansen finished off the shutout. Catcher A.J. Ellis put the Dodgers on the board with a solo shot down the LF line in the 3^rd. Andre Ethier’s sac fly in the 4^th plated Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Uribe had RBI doubles in the 6^th. Shelby Miller (0-1) was the LP for the Cardinals.

Game 5, October 9, 2014 at Los Angeles – Going where the

real life teams didn’t go, the Cardinals nonetheless advanced to the NLCS with a tight 2-1 win. Adam Wainwright (1-0) was spot on, going 8 innings with 1 run and 5 hits against him. Wong got things rolling offensively for St. Loo with a RBI single plating Matt Holliday. The Dodgers responded immediately in the B4 when Uribe brought home Gonzalez on a sac fly. The winning run came in the 7^th when Matt Carpenter singled and PR Shelby Miller raced home. Rosenthal (2) retired outs 26 and 27 for the Redbirds winner. Grienke (0-1) was the hard-luck loser.
--submitted by Bruce Thomas-- 

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