St. Louis Cardinals’ Kyle Lohse to start Wild Card game against Detroit Tigers – MLB News
St. Louis Cardinals have named Kyle Lohse to start Friday’s crucial Wild Card game against the Detroit Tigers. Having never pitched in any postseason game, this will be one of the biggest challenges in the career of the pitcher.
There were reasons for it. When Lohse ended the regular season, he had Major League best .842 winning percentage with 16-3 record. With the presence of indomitable starters in all clubs, his occupying the central stage gave the Cardinals a solid reason to entrust him with Friday’s start.
"It feels real good to know that they trust me enough to go out there and pitch in a one-game playoff," Lohse said. "That's something you dream about as a kid. Now I get to go do it. I've had a good year. I feel like I've done everything I could this year to help get us in this position. I'll do everything I've been doing to help win on Friday."
Cardinals did not make it to this playoff easily. It was faced with numerous challenges, especially the inability to be among the top two teams in the National League Central in the first half of the season.
However, in the second half, the Cardinals staged a spectacular comeback, catching many by surprise as they made it to the Wild Card game. The last series was played against the Cincinnati Reds which they won 2-1 to enter into Friday’s game.
Just when the bigger names were in the Cardinals who could book the spot for Friday’s start, Lohse’s ability to make it there is an expression of the confidence that the management has in him. Other big names that could make it was Chris Carpenter, a starter who played an instrumental role in the Cardinals’ win in the postseason games last year and eventually in the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
But Carpenter thinks Lohse deserved to make the start largely because he can handle the pressure. Carpenter commented that Lohse is looking forward to this challenge.
He said, "He deserves this game. He deserves the chance to go out there and take it on. I've become close with him and he's able to take that pressure. He's able to handle that responsibility.”
Cardinals will definitely want to edge past the Tigers in this crucial encounter. Playing in the National League Division Series is what the club aspires at this stage. All that will hinge upon how they make it to the postseason games in the match-up against the Tigers.
It will be interesting to see if Kyle Lohse, who has never won any postseason game, prevails here over the Tigers; a challenge that he carries on his shoulders at a very crucial stage of in his career.
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