Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals: NLDS Game 4 – MLB Post Game Analysis
The St. Louis Cardinals overcame a resilient Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, defeating the NL East Champions 5-3 to even out the five-game series at two-each on Wednesday, October 5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
With Roy Oswalt starting for the Phillies, the visitors were confident of winning the game and wrapping up the series. However, Cardinals’ offence rose to the occasion and hammered Oswalt to his first career defeat in the post-season. Prior to this, in ten
career post-season starts, Oswalt had managed a decent 5-0 win-loss record and two of these wins had come against the Redbirds.
Oswalt allowed five runs in six innings to finish the game with an ERA of 7.50. This was, by far, his worst outing in the playoffs and he will now be itching to take the mound once again to improve his statistics. For him to get another chance, the Phillies
must outplay the Cardinals in the series finale scheduled for Friday, October 7 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Phillies scored twice in the first inning to give their starter a two-run lead to play with. However, failing to cash in on the situation, Oswalt allowed a run in the first inning and to trim the lead down to one-run. David Freese then dominated the plate
for the Redbirds and unglued Oswalt in the fourth and sixth inning to guide his team to a much-needed win.
"It's good to get some early runs, for sure," Oswalt said. "I felt pretty comfortable after that. Just two bad pitches."
Freese had failed to make an impact in the first three games, but responded when his team needed him the most. He produced a two-run double in the fourth inning and then unleashed his arms for a 428-feet home-run in the sixth to virtually seal the game.
He was 2-for-12 before this game in the series, but became a local hero after going 2-for-3 and driving in four runs in this intense encounter.
Expressing his excitement after winning the game for his team, Freese said, "This is what you worked for. Just to do this in front of the fans of St. Louis and a bunch of friends and family, it's amazing."
Albert Pujols failed in his four at-bats for the Cardinals, but played his part on the field, effectively winning the game for the Redbirds with a brilliant effort on first base in the sixth inning. After the game, Pujols commented that this was an effort
he would have made in the regular season, but because it was the post-season, he had to make sure that this opportunity did not go waste. Explaining his effort, Pujols said, "If I would have stayed on the bag, it was going to be tough to get the runner at
third."
Phillies’ manager accepted the home-team’s brilliance and settled for the loss. However, he remained adamant that with Philadelphia’s ace Roy Halladay to start game five, the Phillies are in with a chance to make it through to the NLCS. He was quick to add
that this, however, was not the way he had intended to go through.
The Cardinals will have their ace Chris Carpenter on the mound for the finale and rest assured, the game will surely be a cracker.
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