St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran hit a walk-off single against Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift his team to a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Friday.
Dodgers vs. Cardinals, NLCS Game 1 final score: St. Louis wins, 3-2, in 13 innings
Not surprisingly, Carlos Beltran was the hero for the Cardinals on Friday.
Beltran lined a 3-1 cutter into the right field corner to plate Daniel Descalso, whose one out single off of Dodgers reliever Chris Withrow started the Cardinals' rally. After Withrow walked Matt Carpenter, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly decided to call upon his closer, a strategy not usually seen with visiting teams in tie games.
The game-winning hit came 10 innings after Beltran got the Cardinals on the board with a two-run double. That came a half-inning after Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe came through with a two-out, two-run single, which ended up being the only runs the NL West champs would score.
The Dodgers had their chances to get the go-ahead run across the plate, sending at least one batter to the plate with a runner in scoring position in three out of the final four innings.
The events of the late innings spoiled a masterful performance by Dodgers starter Zack Greinke. The 29-year-old right-hander notched 10 strikeouts while surrendering two runs on only four hits in eight frames. Sitting at 104 pitches, Greinke was lifted for pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker, who struck out swinging, in the top of the ninth.
More from SB Nation MLB:
See More:
