St. Louis – For a change, the drama came from electricity, not conspiracy.
There was no Zapruder – or is it Zapitcher – film. No mudslinging. Instead, the St. Louis Cardinals buried the hatchet on Kenny Rogers and spent Tuesday night kicking clumps of dirt in the Detroit Tigers’ faces.
With Chris Carpenter showing Rogers’ command and none of his mysterious thumb stain, the Cardinals delivered a cold-blooded to take a 2-1 lead.
“It’s hard to believe that was Carp’s first World Series game ever,” said Cardinals slugger Jim Edmonds, author of a two-RBI double. “You are measured by what you do in October. And you can’t pitch any better than he did.”
The fallout for the Tigers is chilling, if not unnerving.
For only the second time this postseason, they trail in a series. But unlike when they rallied against the New York Yankees, there is no underdog card to play, no recently injured veteran pitcher (Mike Mussina) to face. Jeff Suppan awaits tonight, chest puffed out after winning National League Championship Series MVP honors. No wonder Tigers manager Jim Leyland is contemplating a lineup shake-up.
It’s as if destiny has changed allegiance, putting the Cardinals in position to win a World Series with the fewest victories (83) in the regular season.
“With what’s at stake, we had to put that whole Rogers thing behind us. That wasn’t going to do us any good,” left fielder Preston Wilson said. “This team has a lot of confidence and isn’t afraid to fail.”
Suppan has been wildly successful this postseason, but it’s hard to imagine him trumping the Cards’ ace. Carpenter morphed back into the pitcher this team has grown accustomed to seeing. He looked less like Sigh Young and more like the reigning Cy Young, muzzling the Tigers to three hits in eight innings.
Rather than rely heavily on his breaking ball, Carpenter established his sinker early in counts. It was like a bowling ball dropping off a picnic table, action his teammates hadn’t seen in a month. Next came the cut fastball breaking off the hips of right- handers. Then just to show how heartless he was, he mixed in a changeup.
“We came up with a nice game plan and I was able to execute it,” said Carpenter, who missed the 2004 World Series because of a nerve problem in his arm. “There wasn’t anything else in my head. That’s all I was thinking about.”
Carpenter’s outing looked effortless, in stark contrast to the pitcher who seemed to be trying to do too much in the playoffs. He threw just 82 pitches, never once reaching a three-ball count.
“He kept the ball and he changed speeds,” Tigers shortstop Carlos Guillen said. “That made it tough.”
Carpenter, whose 1.85 home ERA was the lowest for any major-league starter this season, was a stranger to trouble. As temperatures dropped into the high 30s – a New Hampshire native, Carpenter loved it – the Tigers’ bats went into a deep freeze. Their only threat, in the third inning, expired when Curtis Granderson grounded out to second base.
All the support Carpenter required came in a forgettable fourth inning for Tigers starter Nate Robertson. After a leadoff single by Wilson, Albert Pujols rifled a ground-rule double to right field on a pitch nearly a foot outside. Moments later, Edmonds delivered a two-run double down the first-base line, creeping the Cardinals closer to their first World Series crown since 1982.
“When you are a kid playing in your backyard, you don’t dream about hitting a double in a July game. You pretend you are in the World Series,” Edmonds said. “It felt good to contribute. That’s all you can ask is to have the respect of your teammates.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
