Cardinals win slugfest over Dodgers in Game 1: Quick hits

Breaking down Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium final score was Cardinals 10, Dodgers 9; Cardinals lead the series 1-0. So much for the greatest postseason pitching matchup in a half-century at Dodger Stadium, and welcome to one of the most dramatic turnarounds you'll ever witness. Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, cruising with a 6-1 lead and retiring 16 consecutive batters, was ambushed in the seventh inning with the Cardinals staging an eight-run uprising. The Cardinals had just two hits the entire game - both homers - and led off the seventh inning with four consecutive singles, and five singles in the first six batters, cutting the Dodgers' lead to 6-4. Then, with two outs and the bases still loaded, Matt Carpenter slammed a bases-clearing double into the right-center-field gap, and just like that, the Cardinals had a 7-6 lead. It soon became a rout when Matt Holliday took reliever Pedro Baez deep for a three-run homer. Just like that, the Cardinals turned the game into a rout, 10-6. The Cardinals, huge underdogs in this series, suddenly are looking awfully pretty. They needed to win just one game in Los Angeles to have a chance. Now, with Lance Lynn on the mound in Game 2 on Saturday, they believe they can go home with a 2-0 lead with John Lackey scheduled to start in Game 3 in St. Louis. Certainly, after ripping Kershaw for eight hits and eight earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, their confidence is sky-high. Kershaw unraveled so quickly, startling manager Don Mattingly, he never had time to react. The Cardinals produced their hits in such rapid fire that Mattingly failed to get the bullpen up in time. By the time he did, the Cardinals had cut the lead to 6-4, and after five hits and the bases still loaded and one out, Mattingly finally went to the mound. He talked to Kershaw, and opted to leave him in the game. Kershaw responded by striking out Oscar Taveras. 

Yet, with Matt Carpenter up, after homering off Kershaw in the sixth inning, Mattingly decided to stay with Kershaw. Kershaw quickly got ahead of Carpenter, 0-and-2, but couldn't put him away. Carpenter sent a double into the right-center gap, clearing the bases, and the Cardinals had a 7-6 lead, ending Kershaw's night. Matt Carpenter. The guy is considered the ultimate gamer, and he carved a niche in Cardinals' folklore with his homer, double and four RBI off Kershaw. Kershaw may never want to see him again. Carpenter also made two fine plays in the field. Kershaw. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to give up at least seven earned runs in back-to-back starts, giving up seven runs a year ago in his last start against the Cardinals in the NLCS. It was also the first time since June 9, 2011, that he lost a game with his team scoring at least four for him. He was 76-4 in his career when getting four or more runs of support. The boisterous crowd, going absolutely bonkers the entire game_fueled by the bench-clearing skirmish between the two teams in the third inning - going numb when Carpenter hit his three-run double. And all of those cheers turned to boos when Holliday capped off the comeback with three-run homer off Baez. Mattingly trusted Kershaw that he could get out of his jam in the seventh inning, and it backfired. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny went to left-handed specialist Randy Choate to face Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth inning. And it blew up in his face when Gonzalez hammered a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 10-8.