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Chris Carpenter #29 of the St. Louis Cardinals
after final out (Rob Carr/Getty Images) |
They did it again! The
St. Louis Cardinals, behind last night's extraordinary 3-hit, 9-inning shutout by ace
Chris Carpenter, defeated the
Major League Baseball best-record holding
Philadelphia Phillies, who'd won 102 games, to advance to the
National League Championship Series! The Cardinals managed just six total hits and one run, in the first inning, on center-fielder
Skip Schumaker's double that scored shortstop
Rafael Furcal, who had tripled off the Phillies' leading pitcher,
Roy Halladay, but that was enough. As he had on the regular season's final day, Carpenter returned to the form that won him a
Cy Young Award back in 2005, striking out 3 and walking none. His final line was 9.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 runs batted in, 3 strikeouts, and 0 home runs. Halladay was nearly as good, allowing 6 hits in 8 innings while striking out 7. He finished the series at 1 win and 1 loss. Reliever Ross Madson did not allow a hit or run, and struck out 2.
One bizarre twist in the game came after the final at bat, when the Phillies lost slugger (and native St. Louisan)
Ryan Howard to what appears to be an achilles heel injury. After hiting a weak grounder, he pulled up just feet from home plate, and had to be helped off the field. The Cardinals will now face the
Milwaukee Brewers, their midwestern rivals, whom they defeated in the 1982
World Series when the Brewers still were in the
American League. Matching up in that league's championship series are the
Detroit Tigers, who have the best starter in either league,
Justin Verlander, and whom the Cardinals faced and vanquished in the 2006 World Series (after having lost to them in the 1968 matchup), and the
Texas Rangers, who have never won a World Series. I am hoping it will be the Cardinals vs. Detroit. (And please,
DeWitt family,
re-sign Albert Pujols!)
+++
The 2011
Rugby World Cup in
New Zealand is drawing to a close. In the first round of match play, the top teams emerging were host New Zealand (4-0-0, W-T-L) and
France (2-0-2), which edged
Tonga (2-0-2) in Pool A;
England (4-0-0) and
Argentina (3-0-1) in Pool B;
Ireland (4-0-0) and
Australia (3-0-1) in Pool C; and
South Africa (4-0-0) and
Wales (3-0-1) in Pool D.
The
United States did not finish last in its pool, C, but in the penultimate position, winning 1 match and losing 3. Some of the play has resulted in players being banned for a game or two: England's
Delon Armitage suffered this penalty because of his tackle in the match against France.
Now at the quarterfinal stage, Wales today defeated Ireland 22-10, and France topped England 22-19, with two more pairings set for tomorrow, South Africa against Australia, and New Zealand against Argentina. The semifinals will pit Wales against France on October 15, and the winner of the second two matches on October 16, with the 3rd place match to occur on October 21, and the championship on October 23. I tip New Zealand's
All Blacks to win it all, but South Africa and Australia are also very strong contenders. Here a few more photos from more recent matches. Enjoy!
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France's Dmitri Yachvili tackles England's Manu Tuilagi |
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Wales' Dan Lydiate attempts to lay out Ireland's Stephen Ferris |
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Ireland's squad huddle before their match with Wales |
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South Africa's coach Peter de Villiers at practice |
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Wallabies stretching during practice |
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Ma'a Nonu meeting with schoolchildren |
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Prop Juan Figalio and Argentinian teammates in scrum |
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Wales' Bradley Davies latches onto Fiji
fullback Iliesa Lomani Rakuka Keresoni |
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Fiji's team performs the Cibi in front of Wales before their match |
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New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams slips past Canadians |
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Georgia's Georgi Chkaidze grapples with Argentina's Felipe Contepomi |
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Siaule Piutau passes the ball as France's Morgan Parra tackles him |
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