Cardinals vs. Dodgers, 2014 NLDS Game 1 results: St. Louis gets 10-9 win, stuns Clayton Kershaw with 8-run 7th
The Cardinals weathered an onslaught of strikeouts from Clayton Kershaw with a massive eight-run seventh inning, led in large part by Matt Carpenter’s three-RBI double, to take Game 1 of the NLDS.
Matt Carpenter was Clayton Kershaw's worst nightmare, bringing in four runs on a solo home run and a three-run double to drive the St. Louis Cardinals' wild 10-9 Game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and secure a 1-0 lead in the NLDS.
Kershaw came out dealing, striking out eight batters in six innings before the Redbirds pulled four straight hits seemingly out of nowhere to start off the top of the seventh. He would add two more K’s, but was unable to get out of the inning -- Kershaw’s deliberate attempts to punch out Carpenter were met with a bases-clearing double off the right field wall following a dozen-pitch at-bat.
Had Kershaw not collapsed, the Dodgers would likely have been able to grab a win based on how well their offense played. Kershaw had been 16-0 this season when he was supported by three or more runs. Los Angeles bombarded Adam Wainwright for 11 hits, running the three-time All Star from the game in just 4 1/3 innings. But Kershaw continued his surprising struggles in the postseason, where he's only been able to get one win in five games, and the game was blown wide open by Matt Holliday's three-run home run off of Pedro Baez that capped off the eight-run inning.
The Dodgers would try to claw their way back into the game with a two-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth. A ninth-inning rally came up short when Yasiel Puig struck out with the tying run at third, following Dee Gordon's sacrifice that brought A.J. Ellis home from third after Andre Ethier's left-field double put him there in the first place.
The Cardinals will try to gain a stranglehold on the series with Game 2 on Saturday at Dodgers Stadium. They'll throw out Lance Lynn, obviously hoping that he can carry over his career-best 2.74 ERA to the proceedings. His L.A. counterpart will be Zack Greinke, whose 2.71 ERA and 207 strikeouts both ranked top-10 in the National League.
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