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The fifth hitter of the fifth inning of the fifth game brought the Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers to the pivot point of a close-as-kin series. Two teams that had evenly divided 22 games now scrambled to decide which way Friday night would cut.
With the Cardinals leading by three runs, manager Tony La Russa came to the mound for the ball, which starting pitcher Jaime Garcia held out like a dirty diaper.
Rather than wait for a full-blown crisis to react, La Russa adhered to the bullpen-first inclination that has served his team so well in recent days. Friday’s reward was a critical stand by Octavio Dotel and another night of near-perfection from those who followed.
And, yes, a 7-1 win in Game 5 of the NL championship series that puts the Cardinals one win shy of their third World Series appearance in eight seasons.
During the course of baseball's 162-game regular season, the concept of momentum has limited relevance. But in the playoffs, momentum seemingly shifts from inning to inning, and most certainly from game to game as every pitch... more »
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