NLCS Game 3: 7:30 p.m. ET
Live on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific
ST. LOUIS (AP) – On the day he pitches, Chris Carpenter can be an ornery cuss. He prowls the mound, barks at hitters, and on at least one occasion has been known to invite a basepath collision.
Though just an 11-game winner for the St. Louis Cardinals, the 36-year-old right-hander has been in dominating mode since midseason. Apparently in the Milwaukee Brewers’ heads, too, heading into a matchup of aces in Game 3 of the NL championship series on Wednesday night against 17-game winner Yovani Gallardo.
“Yo has been our best guy, he loves being in these situations,” Brewers leadoff man Corey Hart said. “It’s our guy against their guy. Both are best guys.”
Carpenter mixed it up with volatile Nyjer Morgan in September and was labeled a “phony” by Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke prior to the series.
Nothing phony about the results.
Carpenter shut down Milwaukee twice in September, allowing only two runs in 17 innings to fuel an improbable drive for the NL wild-card berth. He’s coming off a career signature moment, a three-hit shutout against Roy Halladay that eliminated the favored Phillies in the NL division series.
Carpenter has been clutch throughout his career in the postseason, too, going 6-2 with a 2.94 ERA. He pushed aside his friendship with Halladay for a 1-0 win in Game 5 of the NL division series, and will do his best to not allow Brewers animosity to affect him.
So, sorry, no feud. Just getting ready for a big start.
You can probably forget about the rally squirrel, too. The Cardinals are capitalizing on the craze, giving 40,000 rally towels featuring a squirrel, but by Tuesday afternoon team officials had caught four of the critters.
ALCS Game 4: 3:30 p.m. ET
Live on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific
After finally showing signs of life at the plate, the Detroit Tigers are right back in the AL championship series.
The Tigers hope for another big offensive effort Wednesday as they try to even the series against the Texas Rangers in Game 4 at Comerica Park.
After totaling five runs and 15 hits while dropping the first two games in Texas, Detroit banged out a postseason-high 11 hits during a 5-2 win Tuesday. Miguel Cabrera hit one of the Tigers’ three homers and delivered a tiebreaking double to help make the series a little more interesting with at least two more games remaining at Comerica.
Doug Fister threw 7 1-3 strong innings while Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta also homered for the Tigers, who had one home run through the previous two games.
Martinez’s fourth-inning homer tied Game 3, but he appeared to suffer an oblique injury on the swing. Though he remained in the game, Martinez’s status is uncertain.
Thankfully for the Tigers, Cabrera is healthy.
The veteran first baseman was 5 for 23 with a homer and three RBIs this postseason prior to going 2 for 4 on Tuesday. He’s 6 for 15 with a double against scheduled Texas starter Matt Harrison (1-0, 4.76 ERA), who looks to find a way to beat Detroit for the first time in his career.
The left-hander is 0-4 with a 7.43 ERA in five career starts versus the Tigers, including 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in two this season. He is 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA at Comerica.
Harrison allowed two runs and struck out nine in five innings of the Rangers’ 4-3, AL division series-clinching win at Tampa Bay on Oct. 4. He also yielded one run in two-thirds of an inning of relief in Texas’ 9-0 Game 1 loss to the Rays on Sept. 30.
The Tigers counter with Rick Porcello (0-1, 4.50), who they hope gained some confidence after he pitched two innings of scoreless relief in the 3-2 Game 1 loss at Texas. That effort came after Porcello allowed four runs and hit two batters over six innings of a 10-1 home loss in Game 4 against New York on Oct. 4.
