The Brewers are finally on the board, thanks to Corey Hart's two-out liner into left field that plated Jonathan Lucroy. And just a moment later, Jaime García, who had pitched so well for four innings, was gone.
Cardinals vs. Brewers: Tony La Russa 4, Brewers 1
Now, don't give all the blame to García, who pitched so well in the first four innings. He opened the inning by striking out Carlos Gomez. Jonathan Lucroy, the Brewers' No. 8 hitter, slapped a line drive toward right field. Albert Pujols, one of the game's best-fielding first baseman, timed his leap perfectly and had the ball carom out of his glove. The official ruling was base hit but Pujols makes that play 90 percent of the time.
Zack Greinke bunted Lucroy to second base. No sweat, right? Two outs, man on second, 4-0 lead?
Except Corey Hart drove that liner into left. And Jerry Hairston shot a grounder into left field for another single.
And you know Tony La Russa. He doesn't trust García and he loves his bullpen, and so La Russa brought in Octavio Dotel to face righty-hitting Ryan Braun, who of course was perfectly capable of tying the game with one swing.
Tough darts for García, who will again fail to earn his first postseason victory.
La Russa’s sitting pretty, though. Before tonight, Dotel had faced Ryan Braun nine times, and struck him out seven times.
Tonight he made it eight strikeouts, and so it's still Cardinals 4, Brewers 1. And Tony La Russa is still a genius.
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