lucylily's blog: "ght"

ST. LOUIS - The Milwaukee Brewers hoped Yovani Gallardo would settle down and stop the St. Louis Cardinals. Instead, he went wild. Albert Pujols hit an RBI double during a four-run first inning against Gallardo and the Brewers never quite recovered, dropping to the Cardinals 4-3 Wednesday night and falling into a 2-1 deficit in the NL championship series. "When you make mistakes like we did the first inning, theyre going to get their hits, theyre going to score some runs," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. Gallardo, whos 1-7 with a career 5.66 ERA against the Cardinals, trailed 2-0 after his first 12 pitches and barely made it out of the opening inning. The 17-game winner walked three, one of them intentional, and the Brewers had Chris Narveson up in the bullpen before Yadier Molina grounded into a run-scoring double play for Gallardos first outs. Gallardo trudged to the dugout after his 33-pitch ordeal that included RBI doubles by Jon Jay and David Freese. "I think I made a good pitch to Jay," Gallardo said. "I tried to go up and in with a fastball and I was able to do that and he just hit it out to the outfield. And to Pujols, it might have been a little bit up and over the plate but I thought it was a good pitch." In all, Gallardo lasted five innings and gave up eight hits, walked five (two intentional) and tied an NLCS record with three wild pitches. He struck out two. The Cardinals 4-0 lead seemed as if it would be plenty with ace Chris Carpenter pitching. It was, barely, thanks in large part to a 12-up-and-12-down performance by the St. Louis bullpen. Four relievers -- Fernando Salas, Lance Lynn, Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Motte -- were perfect over the final four innings. Milwaukee chipped away at Carpenter with two runs in the second on singles by Rickie Weeks, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Yuniesky Betancourt, and a sacrifice fly by Gallardo. Mark Kotsays homer leading off the third made it a one-run game. Carpenter, coming off a shutout against Philadelphia in the deciding game of the divisional series, wasnt nearly as sharp this time. "We got to 4-3 and I felt good," Roenicke said. "I felt we were going to score some more runs." Carpenter laboured through five innings, giving up six hits and walking three (one intentional) and striking out three. "It was a battle all night long," Carpenter said. "My stuff was OK, but these guys worked me hard." The Brewers had runners on base in every inning against him. Weeks struck out with two on to end the fifth. But Milwaukee couldnt touch the St. Louis bullpen. "Its not going to work very often that you can put four zeros against their offence," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. Jason Motte, who had two saves lasting more than inning in September, and another in Game 2 of the division series at Philadelphia, got four outs for this save. He fanned pinch-hitter Casey McGehee to end it. Carpenter won his seventh post-season game to tie Bob Gibsons franchise record, but with none of the brilliance of his three-hit win over Roy Halladay and the favoured Phillies in Game 5 of the first round. Nearly half of his 89 pitches were balls. The starters ineffectiveness was surprising considering their track records. Carpenter has been clutch throughout his career in the post-season, going 7-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 12 games. Gallardo allowed only two runs in 21 innings, a minuscule 0.86 ERA, before Game 3. Kyle Lohse, pitching on 12 days rest, starts Game 4 Thursday for the wild-card Cardinals against Randy Wolf. The Cardinals batted around against Gallardo in the first. Pujols delivered an RBI double after starring in a Game 2 win with a home run and three doubles. St. Louis had its chances to break away later, but hit into three double plays and stranded nine runners. Luckily for the Brewers, Carpenter didnt have his "A" game, either. He walked none in that gem against the Phillies, but already had a walk and a hit batsman in the Brewers first three plate appearances. Carpenter escaped with help from Kotsay, who strayed too far off second on Prince Fielders lineout to centre and was doubled off the bag by Jays strong throw to end the inning. Kotsay got a spot start in place of Nyjer Morgan, partly because hes 4 for 11 against Carpenter. Morgan flied out to start the seventh as a pinch hitter and was roundly booed throughout the at-bat. Ryan Braun and Fielder each entered the game hitting .500 in the NLCS with a combined seven RBIs. They were a combined 1 for 6 with no runs or RBIs Wednesday. "We competed," Braun said. "We had plenty of chances. Its a tough game and just get ready for tomorrow." NOTES: The Brewers have lost eight straight post-season road games since beating St. Louis 10-1 in Game 1 of the 1982 World Series. ... Hall of Famer Stan Musial made a pregame appearance at home plate via golf cart, and was flanked by fellow Cardinals Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Red Schoendienst. ... Pujols has 16 post-season walks, moving past Jim Edmonds for the franchise record. ... Betancourt singled his first two trips and had been on a 10-for-18 run before a flyout in the sixth. Patrick Willis White Jersey . The 76ers looked like the high-scoring, solid defensive team the brass envisioned when it traded for Andrew Bynum.Vernon Davis Black Jersey . A ponderous field-position struggle resulted in only three field goals going into the fourth quarter.http://www.49ersnflofficialjerseys.com/authentic-frank-gore-jersey-womens.html .ca! Hi Kerry, Regarding the goal scored by Matt Duchene in Mondays game between Nashville and Colorado, it seems that the referees didnt call the play offside because the puck was deflected by Scott Hannans stick and Craig Smiths left skate (both Predators players) into the Predators defensive zone, making it a back pass and thus no offside position should be considered. Dan Skuta Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions have signed first-round draft pick Riley Reiff. Mike Iupati Jersey . On the fourth day, the Victoria native used a late move to grab the pink jersey back from the Spanish rider. Hesjedal caught everyone by surprise Saturday when he broke away from the peloton with just over a kilometre to go.The Chicago Cubs announced on Friday that the club has signed first baseman Trevor Gretzky. According to ESPN, the son of Wayne Gretzky signed a contract for $375,000 and could be assigned to one of the Cubs minor league affiliates or go to the Cubs minor league complex in Mesa, Ariz. "The Cubs are thrilled to welcome Trevor Gretzky to the organization," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said in a statement. "It was a pleasure working with the Gretzky family on this contract and we are excited by Trevors decision to begin his pro baseball career with the Cubs.dddddddddddd" Gretzky played high school ball in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He batted .393 with a home run and 27 RBIs in 31 games for Oaks Christian in 2011. Gretzky had committed to San Diego State University prior to signing with the Cubs. ' ' '