Ka-boom. Trailing 4-2 in the 9th with two out and facing Mr. Automatic, Brad Lidge, St. Louis’ David Eckstein singled to left, Jim Edmonds walked…and Albert Pujols crushed a hanging slider all the way to those cheesy train tracks high above left field.
Pujols’ blast may have saved St. Louis’ season, and Eckstein’s dribbler between third and short might have started the rally, but let’s give credit where it is due. Well done, Jim Edmonds, for not getting thrown out of the game.
Insane, spin-around tag by Javier Molina when Jason Lane tried to score from third on Andy Pettitte’s grounder to Pujols in the 2nd. Best defensive play we’ve seen from one of the 3 Molinas in the last week, easy.
The Astros’ record when leading after 7 innings has now dropped to something like 78-2. Which either means the opposition was due, or more likely, Pujols is one of those guys who will absolutely kill you if you make a mistake.
Though I’m not sure I’ll agree with Jennie Zelasko that momentum in the series has swung to St. Louis’ side (merely because I wouldn’t want to agree with her if she said the sky was blue), there’s enough intrigue to keep us glued for a few more days. The Cardinals merely need two consecutive home victories to advance ; the Astros, a split from a pair of games started by Clemens and Oswalt. Momentum? For tonight, St. Louis can settle for survival.
Do we know for sure yet that Berkman’s 3 run homer off Chris Carpenter in the 7th wasn’t caught by the same guy who snagged Berkman & Burke’s long balls in that 18 inning game a week ago Sunday? Is it my imagination, or does it seem like every Astros home run is a 330 foot pop fly, short porch special?
As always, Lady CSTB has the last word. When a glazed over Tony La Russa remarked during his post-game press conference that “these guys are only human”, my (much) better half replied “that’s funny, I thought they were human-shaped statues made of frozen Jesus sperm.”
Then again, I’m sure Joe Buck would’ve said the same thing if he’d watched the game over here.
great game….pujols was SO due. agreed on the momemtum comment….really hard to beat both clemens and oswalt in a 2 game series.
Oswalt is no Pete Munro, but that was as deflating a homer as I’ve seen. Garner told Lidge not to throw anything over the plate. Man, that ball was fucking crushed.
survival it is. this still might slip away from them, but at least we don’t have to watch houston win in that sham of a ballpark with smug babs and george looking on.
what’s the matter Ted, you don’t like choo-choo trains and funny hills in center field?
a funny hill with a pole sticking out of it. not to mention that it was christened as enron field. at least busch stadium was built with beer money and not other people’s pensions.
I hate to quibble with you Ted, but the Astros sold the naming rights to Enron. Said screwy company did not, in fact, build the stadium with their ill-gotten gains.
And plenty of Americans have pissed their pensions away on beer money.
i stand corrected
The Crawford Boxes are a joke. I can understand stadium quirks, but left-handed hitters (esp. Berkman) hitting 315 foot popups that change the course of the playoffs seems extreme to me (and not in a Do the Dew/deodorant way). What they really need is an alligator pit.
was enjoyable seeing the cards win after fox named berkman “player of the game”…before said game was not even finished. in fact the entire fox broadcast seemed to dying for an astros win.
mister o — that’s cause Brenanman, Lyons and Brenly all wanted to go to a reading at Happy Endings this Wednesday night.
I may have to admit I was wrong about admitting I was wrong here last night.
Speaking of last ditch homers, Kirk Gibson’s name (along with Bobby Valentine and Orel “Bulldog” Hershhiser) is being floated as a Dodger manager.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers18oct18,0,1595839.story?coll=la-home-sports
Ben
has anyone heard a measurement on that thing? it had to be 500ft plus.
never mind. 412ft, which has to be where it hit the wall, not where it would’ve landed.
And plenty of Americans have pissed their pensions away on beer money.
and some of us aren’t waiting until retirement to do it.
I’m a little surprised that nobody has suggested an IBB would have been the way to go. Granted, it puts the go ahead run in scoring position, but there’s an out at every base, and Reggie Sanders has looked completely clueless against Lidge all week.
Had Tony been managing against himself, he might’ve tried it. On at least one occasion, we’ve seen him intentionally walk Barry Bonds, putting a winning or tying run on first.
Up by two, with Pujols 0-4 on the night, I can’t argue with Garner/Lidge choosing to challenge the Cardinals’ superduperstar.