St. Louis – Tony La Russa sifts through statistics, panning for solutions like Will Hunting. He makes meticulous notes, seeking an advantage.
Each game represents an equation. The situations that arise are shaped in innumerable ways based on a manager’s preparation.
As he removed his jersey and retreated to his office Wednesday night, La Russa’s fingerprints were smudged all over the St. Louis Cardinals’ 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros in the NLCS opener.
La Russa wants absolutes. In David Eckstein and Abraham Nuñez, he has players who remove variables. Glance at the box score, and it’s easy to conclude Reggie Sanders, for all intents and purposes, won the game with his first-inning two-run home run.
There’s no disputing the importance of the hit, particularly the timing, which sent an eager crowd into delirium. But that home run was so 2004, so Larry Walker-Albert Pujols-Scott Rolen piñata party. This team is different, its offense shaped around details.
Eckstein is a perfect pawn for a manager who views his job as a nine-inning chess match. He can bunt, hit-and-run and would rather eat pine tar than miss a game. La Russa says of such players, “They provide consistency and predictability.”
Eckstein singled off Houston’s Andy Pettitte to start the game, a shot that stung as much as the line drive that struck the Astros’ starter in batting practice.
Nuñez, Rolen’s replacement at third base, scored a run and was a central figure in rallies, as an instigator on offense and a killer with his glove, erasing Morgan Ensberg at the plate in the fourth inning.
“I told somebody before the game that (Eckstein’s) the toughest guy I have ever been around. He gets things going,” La Russa said. “And I look to our eighth-place hitter (Nuñez) who had two big hits. I mean, the big stuff we can take of.”
With Pujols and Sanders, who has 22 RBIs in his past 10 games dating to the regular season, stardom happens. It’s the little things, especially in the playoffs, which help determine outcomes.
Rewind to the second inning. Chris Carpenter strode to the plate with Mark Grudzielanek at third base. By all accounts, Carpenter is a poor bunter. It is largely why Nuñez was shifted to the eighth spot, providing a faster runner who could advance on Carpenter’s sacrifices.
Naturally, Carpenter delivered a perfect squeeze, shoving the Cardinals ahead 3-0.
“Without question you have to be on edge with Tony. He told us in spring training that everything starts from the ground up,” Eckstein said. “He expects you to be able to execute the sign. Those moments tell you how hard we work when no one is watching.”
Carpenter demonstrated why he’s the front-runner for the Cy Young Award. He surrendered just two runs in eight innings, Chris Burke’s pinch-hit home run representing the lone blemish.
“He’s got a live fastball, he locates well and uses both sides of the plate,” Astros manager Phil Garner said. “You do that, and you are going to be successful.”
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
