Chris Carpenter bests Roy Halladay in dream matchup – MLB Update
Chris Carpenter overcame a resilient fight from Roy Halladay to help the St. Louis Cardinals edge past 1-0 against Philadelphia Phillies in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Friday, October 7 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Carpenter tossed a three-hit complete game shut-out to send the Phillies reeling out of the post-season. Philadelphia had bagged their fifth consecutive NL East crown earlier in the regular season, but failed to replicate their record breaking form in the
post-season.
Widely tipped by many to prevail in the historical matchup, Halladay pitched effectively but was outdone by his competitor and long-time friend Carpenter. Phillies’ ace allowed one run in the first inning and that proved to be the only difference between
both teams in the end. This result was uncommon for the Phillies as they were blanked only seven times during the regular season.
Carpenter expressed his experience as pleasurable. He praised Halladay’s performance and stated that it was a dream come true to beat the best pitcher in the Majors on the road. Carpenter said, "Roy Halladay is, at this time, probably the best pitcher in
the game and we were able to go out and jump ahead, which was huge."
Entering the post-season on Wild Card, no one would have expected that the Cardinals would subdue the Phillies in the NLDS. However, statistically speaking, the Cardinals had an upper-hand when the series was stretched to Game 5. They had a 66 percent winning
percentage in post-season eliminator games as compared to the Phillies, who have a history of collapsing in crunch games.
Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel did not have anyone to blame for the loss. He, however, reiterated the fact that his team had the best record in the regular season and crashing out this early has dissipated the effort. Nonetheless, he was utterly disappointed
on the fact that three of his four starters were taken down by the Cardinals in the series. Only Cole Hamels managed to come out of the series unbeaten.
The Cardinals will now face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series to fight it out for the pennant.
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