Chris Carpenter proves himself as St. Louis Cardinals’ ace – MLB Update
St. Louis Cardinals’ ace and leader Chris Carpenter proved his versatility yet again on Wednesday, October 19 as he subdued Texas Rangers’ ace C.J. Wilson in Game 1 of the World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
There were rumours prior to the game that Carpenter might be scratched from the start citing elbow problems, but the starter insisted that his elbow is perfectly fine and that he is geared up to give his team a handy lead in the seven-game series.
Marc Rzepczynski, Jason Motte and other members of the bull-pen had voiced admiration for their ace and were content by the Carpenter’s performance on and off the field throughout the year. He helped his men yet again, pitching six top-quality innings to
relieve load from the over-burdened bull-pen.
The last time any starter pitched six-plus innings for the Cardinals was in Game 5 of the National League Division Series against Philadelphia Phillies, where Carpenter hurled a three-hitter shutout against Roy Halladay to push the favoured NL East Champions
out of contention.
Carpenter exposed his entire repertoire in the game, allowing only two runs in the fifth inning, more because of Mike Napoli’s brilliance rather than his own fault. Napoli’s two-run homer was the only time that the Rangers were allowed to score in the game.
Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa, showing immense experience, took the ball from his ace after the sixth inning, when the team registered a one-run lead over the Rangers. La Russa opted to employ his resourceful bull-pen in a bid to keep the gulf between
both teams intact. He rightfully succeeded in his tactics as Motte and company safely saw the team through with scored undeterred at 3-2.
In the regular season, Carpenter had managed to bag just 11 wins to counter his nine losses, but picked form just in time for the postseason. After the Redbirds lost 20-game winner Adam Wainwright to a season-ending elbow injury earlier in spring training,
Carpenter emerged as the ace for the Cardinals, pitching a two-hitter against Houston Astros on the last day of the season to help his team qualify for the playoffs.
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