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Los Angeles • Matt Holliday and pinch-hitter Shane Robinson connected for the first home runs of the NL championship series, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff.
In a series starved for offense, the Cardinals scored as many runs as they did in the first three games combined, when the teams totaled nine runs.
Game 5 is Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, with the Cardinals one win from the World Series. Zack Greinke is set to start for Los Angeles against Joe Kelly.
Of course, St. Louis had a 3-1 lead in last year's NLCS before dropping three straight to San Francisco, the eventual World Series champion.
It was a painful defeat for the Dodgers — in more ways than one. Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez, playing with a broken left rib, left in the middle of the sixth after striking out three times.
"It got worse as we went along," manager Don Mattingly said.
St. Louis third baseman David Freese came out after six innings. He left Monday's game with a cramp in his right calf.
Hitless in his previous 22 at-bats at Dodger Stadium, Holliday sent a two-run shot off Ricky Nolasco an estimated 426 feet to left field, capping a three-run third that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Seeking a second title in three years, St. Louis turned three important double plays and picked off a runner at second base in the seventh. Defensive standout Pete Kozma, inserted at shortstop in the sixth, started a difficult double play and darted in to complete the pickoff.
Second baseman Matt Carpenter also keyed St. Louis' sharp work with the gloves, one night after some sloppy play was costly in a 3-0 defeat.
Carpenter had an RBI double in the third that scored David Descalso, who hit a leadoff single. Carpenter came around on Holliday's homer after there were none in the first three games for the first time in NLCS history.
Carlos Martinez pitched two scoreless innings in relief of winner Lance Lynn. Trevor Rosenthal got three outs for his second save in the series.
After a leadoff single by Andre Ethier in the ninth, Yasiel Puig grounded into a double play. Juan Uribe struck out to end it, leaving the Dodgers on the brink of elimination.
Now, they'll count on Greinke and ace Clayton Kershaw to pitch them back into the series.
"Kind of the best thought I have is, I've got one of the best pitchers in baseball pitching tomorrow," Mattingly said. "If we come out here and play well tomorrow and get a win, I've probably got the best pitcher in baseball pitching the next day."
Robinson's home run bounced off the top of the wall in left field on a 1-0 pitch from J.P. Howell with one out in the seventh, extending the Cardinals' lead to 4-2. —
Schedule
All games on TBS
St. Louis 3, L.A. 2 (13)
St. Louis 1, Los Angeles 0
Los Angeles 3, St. Louis 0
St. Louis 4, Los Angeles 2
Wednesday • St. Louis (Kelly 10-5) at Los Angeles (Greinke 15-4), 2:07 p.m.
x-Friday • Los Angeles at St. Louis, 6:37 p.m.
x-Saturday • Los Angeles at St. Louis, 6:37 p.m.
x-if necessary Cardinals 4, Dodgers 2
St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
M.Crpenter 2b 4 1 1 1 1 1 .200
Beltran rf 3 0 0 0 2 0 .143
Holliday lf 4 1 2 2 0 0 .125
Ca.Martinez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-
c-Chambers ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Rosenthal p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-
Ma.Adams 1b 5 0 0 0 0 3 .067
Y.Molina c 2 0 0 0 2 0 .231
Jay cf 3 0 1 0 0 2 .154
Freese 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .154
Kozma ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Descalso ss-3b 4 1 1 0 0 3 .333
b-S.Robinson ph-lf
2 1 1 1 0 0 .333
Totals 31 4 6 4 6 11
Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
C.Crawford lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .278
M.Ellis 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .294
H.Ramirez ss 3 0 0 0 0 3 .222
Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-
Belisario p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-
M.Young ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ad.Gnzalez 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .231
Ethier cf 3 1 2 0 1 0 .231
Puig rf 3 0 2 1 1 0 .250
Uribe 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .118
A.Ellis c 2 0 1 1 1 0 .308
Nolasco p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-Schmaker ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Punto ss 1 0 1 0 0 0 .400
Totals 31 2 8 2 3 6
St. Louis 003 000 100 — 4 6 0
Los Angeles 000 200 000 — 2 8 1
a-grounded into a double play for Nolasco in the 4th. b-homered for Maness in the 7th. c-struck out for Ca.Martinez in the 9th. E—Withrow (1). LOB—St. Louis 9, Los Angeles 5. 2B—M.Carpenter (1), Ad.Gonzalez (2), Punto (1). HR—Holliday (1), off Nolasco S.Robinson (1), off Howell. RBIs—M.Carpenter (1), Holliday 2 (2), S.Robinson (1), Puig (2), A.Ellis (1). SB—M.Carpenter (1). S—Lynn. Runners left in scoring position—St. Louis 5 (Holliday, Freese, Ma.Adams 2, S.Robinson) Los Angeles 3 (Nolasco 2, Schumaker). RISP—St. Louis 2 for 10 Los Angeles 2 for 6. Runners moved up—Beltran, Uribe. GIDP—Freese, Puig, Uribe, Schumaker. DP—St. Louis 3 (Descalso, Ma.Adams), (Kozma, M.Carpenter, Ma.Adams), (M.Carpenter, Ma.Adams) Los Angeles 1 (Uribe, M.Ellis, Ad.Gonzalez).
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Lynn W, 2-0 51⁄3 6 2 2 3 5 2.45
Maness 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Ca.Martinez 2 1 0 0 0 0 0.00
Rosenthal S, 2-2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0.00
Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Nolasco L, 0-1 4 3 3 3 1 4 6.75
Withrow 2 0 0 0 3 1 2.70
Howell 1 2 1 1 1 3 3.00
Belisario 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 0.00
Marmol 12⁄3 0 0 0 1 3 0.00
T—3:17. A—53,992 (56,000).