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| Adams was the game hero for STL. Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/ USA Today Sports |
The Cardinals once again got to Clayton Kershaw in the 7th inning of his start as Matt Adams of St. Louis hit the go ahead three run homer to send the Cardinal to their fourth consecutive NLCS appearance with a 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
By: Michael Hanley
After their victory, the Cardinals will now await their opponent in the NLCS, either the Giants or Nationals. They will have a very well rested and refreshed starting rotation with the days off they now will enjoy. The NLCS will start Saturday either at home against the Giants or in DC to face the Nationals.
Clayton Kershaw had a marvelous regular season going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA. Unfortunately the Cardinals once again proved to be his kryptonite this postseason as they tagged him hard throughout his two starts in this NLDS.
The Dodgers ace now is 0-3 with a 9.72 ERA all against the Cardinals. It is baffling to see him struggle with this team that was not known for their power hitting ways during the regular season as they only hit 105 home runs during the regular season, last in the National League. This loss dropped Kershaw to a career record of 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in 11 postseason appearances.
It was a eerily similar start to his last couple of ones against St. Louis, he was cruising through most of the game, not getting himself into too many dicey situations until the 7th inning. This inning provided Kershaw again with a challenge he could not get out of.
He allowed back to back singles by Matt Holiday and Jhonny Peralta to setup Matt Adams, who promptly sat in an off speed pitch and got one to hammer to the right field bleachers, electrifying his teammates and the fans at Busch Stadium as he went around the bases, knowing he had just given the Cardinals a lead that they would not relinquish.
The St Louis bullpen came in afterward and shut the door on Los Angeles as Pat Neshak and Trevor Rosenthal pitched two solid inning in the 8th and 9th respectively to seal the win and series victory for Saint Louis.
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