The Cardinals’ Señor Octubre (aka Carlos Beltrán) is out of the game with an injury, said to be his knee – will have to wait and see how serious it is. Losing Beltran didn’t hurt too much today as his replacement, Matt Carpenter, provided all the runs the Cards would need with a two-run homer in the 3rd. The two bullpens were stingy again, allowing a combined zero runs on only 2 hits and a walk in 4.2 innings of work. The Giants cranked 9 hits, but only one for extra bases, leaving 11 on base with an oh-fer in 7 RISP opportunities. In comparison, the Cards went 2 for 4 in those situations.
Yanks and Tigers go tonight, and it’s do or die time for the pinstripers. They have their ace on the hill, so they are set up to at least prolong the series, and maybe start a comeback to get the ALCS back to the Bronx.
If you were trying to think of the last left-hander before Phil Coke to save consecutive LCS games, well, it’s been a while. Hasn’t happened since Randy Myers in games 2 and 3 of the 1990 NLCS. Coke is the first to do it in the ALCS. Last time in the World Series – Tippy Martinez of the Orioles in games 3 and 4 of the 1983 classic.
With Raúl Ibañez striking out to end game 3 with the tying and go-ahead runs on base, his legend, like mighty Casey’s (not that Casey), has now taken a back seat to … wait for it, courtesy of mlb.com, the Delmon Young legend. Seriously, the man’s a terror with 7 HR in his last 17 post-season games. Of course, in that span, he also has just 3 walks, an OBP under .300, and 15 Ks. But, hey, let’s not let a few inconvenient details spoil a good legend.
Enjoy the games, and tell us what’s on your mind.
