Coming off an epic NLDS win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals now get to play a team that they really hate – and I mean that literally.
Despite being huge underdogs, Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter tossed a three-hit shutout to beat the Phillies in a game for the ages.
Carpenter’s shutout of the vaunted Phillies will go down as one of the greatest performances in MLB history.
The win over the Phillies put St. Louis into the National League Championship Series for the sixth time since 2000 and their first since winning the World Series in 2006.
The 2011 NLCS has all the makings of another classic series when the Cardinals face the Milwaukee Brewers in a matchup of two NL Central Division foes that don’t like each other.
The Cardinals and Brewers split their season series 9-9, but St. Louis went 5-1 against Milwaukee down the stretch as they climbed out of a 10 and-a-half game hole to win the NL Wildcard.
In a September 6 game between the two in St. Louis, both benches and bullpens emptied in the top of the ninth after Carpenter struck out Nyjer Morgan.
The two had words and Morgan headed toward the mound before being restrained by teammate Prince Fielder. No punches were thrown and Morgan was ejected.
Morgan was suspended by MLB for two incidents in 2010, one of which involved the Cardinals.
In an August 28, 2010 game between St. Louis and Washington, Morgan, then a member of the Nationals, collided with catcher Bryan Anderson in front of home plate.
Replays showed Anderson was two feet in front of the plate and Morgan seemingly went out of his way to hit the Cardinals catcher.
Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa was miffed because he felt Morgan took a cheap shot at Anderson.
The Brewers acquired Morgan in a trade with the Nationals just prior to the start of the regular season, and his presence helped Milwaukee win the NL Central this season.
Although he was largely a non-factor in their series against the Diamondbacks, his tenth inning single drove in the winning run that sent Milwaukee into the NLCS.
Adding fuel to the fire on Saturday, Brewers’ Game 1 starter Zack Greinke said the reason Milwaukee hates St. Louis so much is because Carpenter has a “phony attitude.”
As if there wasn’t enough tension between these two teams already, Greinke surely didn’t do himself or the Brewers any favors by running his mouth.
Only twice since the addition of the Wildcard have two teams from the National League Central met in the NLCS. It last happened in 2005, when the Houston Astros beat the Cardinals.
The Brewers, who set a franchise record by going 57-24 at home, will have home field advantage for the NLCS. But St. Louis wasn’t a bad road team this season, going 45-36, including 5-4 at Miller Park.
Cardinals Set Rotation For NLCS Against Brewers
Though neither manager Tony La Russa or pitching coach Dave Duncan have confirmed the arrangement, the Cardinals apparently will send Jaime Garcia against Zack Greinke in Sunday’s Game 1 at Miller Park.
The rest of the alignment calls for Edwin Jackson to take the ball for Game 2, Chris Carpenter in Game 3 and Kyle Lohse in Game 4.
La Russa would then roll over the rotation to give Garcia Game 5, Jackson Game 6 and Carpenter a possible Game 7.
