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October 5, 2006
NLDS: Cardinals vs. Padres
Padres look to rebound and salvage split at home
Don’t let Albert Pujols beat you! That was the sentiment from the ESPN announcers every time St. Louis’ top hitter stepped into the batter’s box on Tuesday. But like an MVP candidate should, Pujols pasted the Padres by bringing in the first two runs of the game with a monster home run to left-center field in the fourth inning.
With one swing of the bat, Pujols erased all the momentum San Diego’s ace Jake Peavy built up in the first three innings. Needing to establish himself and the Padres with a strong outing at home, Peavy was roughed up by the Cardinals allowing five runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. St. Louis went on to win Game 1 by a 5-1 count and are one more road victory from taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the series going back home.
Game 2 now turns into a must win for San Diego, looking for a split that will give them a shot in this division series. The Padres send savvy veteran David Wells to the mound to square off against St. Louis’ Jeff Weaver. Since coming over from the Red Sox Wells has made five starts, posting a record of 1-2 but not allowing more than two runs in three of those five outings. Conversely, Weaver has been unimpressive with St. Louis, posting an 8-14 record with an ERA of 5.76 this season.
In San Diego’s history they have played seven postseason games against the Cardinals, and St. Louis has won every one of them including a sweep in last season’s playoffs.
Coming into this series, St. Louis had lost 9 of its last 12 regular-season games and barely survived to make the playoffs at all. In 2005 they hosted the Padres, and with home field advantage they were simply too much. This year was thought to be different. San Diego improved its team and now earned the right to start the series at home. With Carpenter done for at least a couple more games, San Diego has a chance to respond. Postseason veteran Wells brings valuable experience and clutch pitching in key situations. The Game 3 starter for the Padres is scheduled to be Chris Young, arguably the team’s most consistent arm all year. Nonetheless, San Diego’s postseason hopes currently rest on the broad shoulders of one of the gutsiest pitchers still around. They acquired Wells for situations just like the one he’ll be in on Thursday afternoon.
25015 - Copyright 2006, BetJamaica.com, The Player's Paradise
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