St. Louis took control of their series with the Nationals with a convincing 8-0 victory in D.C. Meanwhile in Cincinnati, the Giants forced a deciding game 5 with the Reds with a 8-3 win.
Cardinals 8 – Nationals 0
With Stephen Strasburg shut down for the year, the Nationals went with Edwin Jackson for their game 3 start against the Cardinals. It didn’t go so well as the Cards knocked Jackson around for eight hits and five runs in five innings. On the other side of the mound, Chris Carpenter had his usual dominating playoff performance shutting the Nats out through 5 2/3 innings of work.
The Cardinals got to Jackson early as they got on the board in the first by way of an Allen Craig double to make it 1-0. They extended the lead to 4-0 in the second when David Freese doubled to start the inning, Daniel Descalso made it first and third with a single, then Pete Kozma sent a first-pitch fastball into the left field seats.
The Nationals tried to counter with runners on first and third in the first and bases loaded in the fifth but they would go down scoreless in each inning. The Cardinals would add insurance runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings to close the scoring at 8-0.
The Cardinals can close the series out in game 4 tomorrow.
Starters Lines:
Jackson (Loss) – 5 IN, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s, 7.20 ERA
Carpenter (Win) – 5 2/3 IN, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 0.00 ERA
Game 4 is tomorrow in Washington at 4:00
Ross Detwiler (WAS) vs. Kyle Lohse 1-0 3.18 ERA (STL)
Giants 8 – Reds 3
The Giants, again, avoided elimination and forced Reds to a deciding game 5. Barry Zito got plenty of offense but was only in for 2 2/3 innings after allowing two runs on four hits while throwing 76 pitches. Tim Lincecum would come in an inning later to record the win after pitching 4 1/3 while only allowing a run on 2 hits while striking out 6.
Mike Leake made the start for the Reds after Johnny Cueto went down with an injury earlier on in the series. He would allow 5 runs on 6 hits in 4 1/3 innings for the loss. Jose Arredondo would allow 3 more runs in the seventh allowing the Giants to put the game out of reach.
Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco, and Pablo Sandoval each went deep accounting for 5 of the Giants runs. Ryan Ludwick added a solo shot for the Reds.
Starters Lines:
Leake (Loss) – 4 1/3 IN, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 10.38 ERA
Zito (ND) – 2 2/3 IN, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K’s (1 to Leake) 6.75 ERA
Game 5 is tomorrow in Cincinnati at 1:00pm
Matt Latos 0–0 2.25 ERA (CIN) vs. Matt Cain 0-1 5.40 ERA (SF)
Photo Credits: Wtop.com
