Brewers Bounce Back in Beer Battle

I like alliteration. Now you know a little more about me.

The St. Louis Cardinals were favorites to win the National League Championship series for the first time going into yesterday's game. The Cards started scoring runs early, similar to the previous two games, but their pitching faltered and eventually lost 4-2.

Regardless of tonight's outcome in Busch Stadium, they will travel to Miller Park for game six; hence, the Beer Battle.

Get it?

Right.

Moving along.

If you read yesterday's article regarding my Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde comparison, then you may be wondering who earned what titles. Randy Wolf did very well allowing six hits and only two earned runs via two solo shots over seven innings. Kyle Lohse could not make it out of the fifth inning. He surrendered six hits (four doubles!) and three earned runs.

Mr. Hyde via Zombify in Picnik

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our monster.

I told you these pitchers were consistently inconsistent and they did not disappoint me. Either they're lights out or in the cellar.

Although I would have preferred the red hat on the good professor, Wolf earned the first quality start of this series. The Cards starting rotation has not seen the sixth inning since Chris Carpenter's shutout against the Phillies on Friday, October 7th. If they want to face the victor of the ALCS, then their starters need to start pitching deeper into the game and stop relying so much on their bullpen.

Tonight is game five and the last game hosted by the Cardinals. It is also a rematch from game one between Jaime Garcia and Zack Greinke. Garcia was on track for a respectable game, then fell apart in the fifth inning. He was responsible for six of the Brewers's runs in that 9-6 loss.

The Cardinals need to prevent the Brewers from winning this mini series in St. Louis if they stand any chance at winning the NLCS.

Tigers Force Game 6

Thursday's night game was a do-or-die situation for the Detroit Tigers. They delivered with a 7-5 victory over Texas, which forces a game six in Arlington on Saturday. Although the Rangers still lead the series 3-2, so the Tigers are still on the brink of elimination.

Justin Verlander allowed four earned runs, eight hits, and three walks over 7+ innings. How do you win when the game is on the line and your pitching is so unusually dismal? (This would be the perfect opportunity to say a line from Day[9]TV, but I will refrain to keep this blog professional. If you understand, then you are awesome.)

Just score more runs than the other team. Brilliant!

Fangraphs

The Rangers allowed four home runs, C.J. Wilson was responsible for three of them. Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn each launched solo home runs, while Delmon Young hit two bombs in the 4th and 6th innings.

To Verlander's credit, his numbers do not give him all the credit he may deserve. He tossed a career-high 133 pitches, 94 of them for strikes. Everything was going quite well. His final pitch actually reached 100 mph on the stadium radar gun, which is uncharacteristically fast for a starting pitcher especially so late into the game. But Nelson Cruz ejected it from the park hitting a two-run home run, his fifth this postseason.

Cruz seems to be vying for his own rendition of Reggie Jackson, Mr. October. The media may give it to him if he keeps this up.

Cards Take the Lead

The St. Louis Cardinals are now the favorites to represent the National League in the World Series after they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in game three. The Cards now lead the series 2-1 and Beyond the Box Score predicts they have a 65.1% chance to take the NLCS.

Beyond the Box Score

Yovani Gallardo allowed the first five Cardinals batters on base before finally recording an out. The Cards scored four runs before their lineup batted around and the first inning finally ended. Lucky for the Brewers, Chris Carpenter was not sharp either and allowed three earned runs over five innings.

Both teams employed their bullpens past the fifth inning, which led to near-perfect results. The Cardinals called upon four relievers and did not allow a base runner, while the Brewers allowed only one hit and one walk with the use of three relievers.

The Cards essentially won the game after abusing Gallardo in the first inning. Will they keep rolling with their winning ways?

Game 4

Kyle Lohse (14-8, 3.39 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 111 SO)

vs.

Randy Wolf (13-10, 3.69 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 134 SO)

Game four seems like a coin flip. Lohse and Wolf are both fine pitchers, but they are quite inconsistent with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde streaks. So what will we see tonight? A well crafted performance by a professor or an ugly monster?

2006 World Series Rematch Unlikely

The gentlemen at Beyond the Box Score have developed a postseason simulator, which deems a rematch between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals only a 5.3% possibility. The Texas Rangers are the large favorite to win the World Series, as per their research.

Beyond the Box Score

I didn't live in St. Louis in 2006, nor did I have any real connection to the Cardinals at the time besides "that other team in the NL Central who beats the Pirates like everyone else." If I remember correctly, it was this World Series match up that lured me back to becoming a hardcore baseball fan. I was amazed to see the Detroit Tigers contending for their chance to win it all after losing a franchise record 119 games only three years prior.

Jim Leyland has a tendency to make heroes out of young, scrappy players. Just look at the 1990-92 Pirates, '97 Marlins, 2006 and '11 Tigers. Each team was a winner, in their own respect. I find it hard to believe he has only one World Series title and two Pennants on his managerial resume.

The Tigers accumulated a 12 game winning streak in September against several of their AL Central rivals, which distanced them from their challengers, ensured them a division title, and earned them a playoff spot. They were supported throughout the season by the extraordinary Justin Verlander, who is a shoe-in for the AL Cy Young, and Miguel Cabrera, who delivered another MVP caliber season.

Both were stellar in the regular season, but their postseason performances have been average at best. Verlander was part of the Tigers organization in 2006 and has only recorded one quality start in his postseason career. Cabrera's batting average is down and his strikeout rate is up, but the Rangers and Yankees have opted to award him first base more often than not.

2011 Regular Season

Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 250 SO)

vs.

C.J. Wilson (16-7, 2.94 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 206 SO)

Wilson quietly put up very respectable numbers behind all the hype surrounding Verlander in the American League. He also has three quality starts in his postseason career, though they all came last year. Otherwise, he looks quite similar to Verlander.

Postseason Stats

Justin Verlander (2-3, 5.71 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 10.4 SO/9)

vs.

C.J. Wilson (1-3, 4.76 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.7 SO/9)

Will either starting pitcher produce a quality start for their team?

Will the bullpen get to work early again?

Game 5 starts in Detroit at 4:19 ET. The Texas Rangers lead the series 3-1, so this is a do-or-die situation for the Tigers.

(Sidenote: Could they have chosen a stranger starting game time?)

Pujols Best Performance in Cardinals Playoff History

Pip over at Fungoes posted a few days ago noting the best performances by Cardinals players in the playoffs and the addition of three players from this year's NLDS series: Ryan Theriot and Albert Pujols in game 3, then David Freese in game 4.

After tonight's game in Milwaukee, I am certain he will likely expand on this thought. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 12-3 to tie the NLCS 1-1. Pujols recorded four hits (three doubles and a home run) over five at bats and scored three times while knocking in five.

8.0 Runs Created. Amazing.

It was a tremendous performance, which actually eclipsed his performance on Tuesday (6.0) and breaks the previous record of 7.2 set by Larry Walker in 2004.

See you in St. Louis for game 3 on Wednesday.