The St. Louis Cardinals pounded Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw for seven runs in four innings en route to a 9-0 victory in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. The Cardinals advance to the World Series to face either the Boston Red Sox or Detroit Tigers.
2013 NLCS Game 6, Dodgers vs. Cardinals results: St. Louis advances to World Series with 9-0 win
The Cardinals took control with a four-run third inning against Clayton Kershaw and never looked back.
Kershaw, the favorite to win the NL Cy Young for the second time in three years, figured to be the guy to pitch the Dodgers into Game 7, but Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals had other ideas.
Beltran had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run against Kershaw. Beltran finished with two RBI.
Matt Carpenter also doubled off of Kershaw on the final offering of an 11-pitch at-bat in the third to spark a four-run inning and Matt Adams' two-bagger in the fifth chased the 25-year-old left-hander from the game with the Cardinals leading, 5-0. Ronald Belisario allowed both runners he inherited from Kershaw to score in the five-run frame.
Kershaw entered the game having surrendered five total runs in his previous 46 innings, spanning seven starts. The loss was his fifth straight against the Cardinals.
While the Dodgers' star pitcher struggled, rookie Michael Wacha shined for the NL champions. The 22-year-old hurler allowed only three base runners in seven shutout innings. He struck out five and induced seven groundouts. In two NLCS starts, Wacha did not allow a run and racked up 13 strikeouts in 13⅔ innings.
The Cardinals’ World Series appearance is their fourth in the past 10 seasons.
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