After a 12-3 victory over the Brewers in Monday night's Game 2, the Cardinals are headed home tied in the series with ace Chris Carpenter taking the mound in Game 3. Things are looking a lot brighter than they did after blowing a big lead in the first game of the series.
"If you want to make it a competitive series, winning a game here, that's a big step in the right direction," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
Carpenter faces Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday night.
Sweep three games at home and the Cardinals move on to the World Series - but in a matchup of two intense NL Central rivals who have played each other evenly all season, nobody's counting on that.
"It's a pretty evenly matched series," Cardinals slugger Lance Berkman said. "I would imagine that this thing is a long way from being over."
Needless to say if you watched the division series, the Brewers are a different team at home. Miller Park may have the most electric atmosphere in the majors this season, and the Brewers go into full beast mode when they're at home. Considering the Cardinals won't have Chris Carpenter available until Game 3, there's a good chance the Brewers could take a commanding series lead with two wins.
Right now, I'd take Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder over the Cardinals' duo of Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman (and Matt Holliday isn't 100 percent). Braun was on everything against Arizona, going 9-for-18 with five extra-base hits. With Fielder hitting behind him, pitchers have to challenge him, and his bat is hot right now. Fielder mashed right-handers all season (1.046 OPS), and the Cardinals' only lefty starter is Jaime Garcia. They do have two lefties in the bullpen in Arthur Rhodes and Marc Rzepczynski, but Rzepczynski in particular has looked shaky down the stretch and didn't pitch well in the division series. I'm not sure how much confidence Tony La Russa will have in him in the NLCS. Add it up, and I see Fielder doing some long-ball damage in this series.
Rickie Weeks had a bad series against Arizona, going just 1-for-18, but I expect him to snap out of that little slump. The good sign is he had just one strikeout in 21 plate appearances, so the hits should start falling. He'll have plenty of RBI opportunities hitting behind Braun and Fielder, and look for him to deliver.
You also have to give the bullpen edge to Milwaukee. John Axford's blown save in Game 5 was an aberration; he'd converted 44 straight chances going back to April 18. You saw him come right back with an easy 10th inning. Throw in Takashi Saito and Francisco Rodriguez, and the Brewers will feel confident with a late-inning lead.
And don't forget: Despite his antics, Tony Plush can play a little ball, too.
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