Cards move within one victory of World Series
ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals are oh so close. They know better than to start celebrating yet.
The defending World Series champions kept their latest victory in perspective Thursday night. Before cashing in another wild-card run to a second straight pennant, they’ve still got to beat the San Francisco Giants once more.
“We’re not taking the last game to get into the World Series for granted,” Matt Holliday said after an 8-3 win put St. Louis up 3-1 in the best-of-7 N.L. championship series with a chance to wrap it up at home. “The Giants have proven they’re a great team and they had their backs to the wall against the Reds.”
The Giants won three straight to eliminate Cincinnati in the division series. Now they have to do it again against a team that appears to have everything working.
The Giants are in a hole after Wainwright threw seven innings of four-hit ball and St. Louis’ offense roughed up Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco bullpen.
The Cardinals can close it out at home tonight in Game 5. Lance Lynn faces Giants lefty Barry Zito, and a St. Louis win would set up a 2006 World Series rematch with Detroit.
Plus, the Cardinals could have Carlos Beltran back in the lineup. Beltran missed virtually all of Games 3 and 4 with a left knee strain but is optimistic about playing in Game 5 after doing some jogging and hitting indoors Thursday.
Holliday, Jon Jay and Yadier Molina had two RBIs apiece to lead a 12-hit outburst by a team that batted just .198 through the first three games of the series.
Giants starter Tim Lincecum was a bust in his first postseason start since the 2010 World Series clincher over Texas, giving up four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
The lone damage against Wainwright came on Hunter Pence’s first homer and RBI of the postseason, a second-inning clout estimated at 451 feet that soared over the visitor’s bullpen into the left-center bleachers to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 2-1.
Just 12 pitches in, the Cardinals had two hits and the lead, and Lincecum got a visit from pitching coach Dave Righetti. Jay opened the first with a single, Matt Carpenter walked on four pitches and Holliday singled up the middle for the lead. Allen Craig tacked on a sacrifice fly for his first RBI in the series.
Holliday’s RBI single was the first RBI by a Cardinals starter since Beltran’s two-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 1.
Sandoval hit a two-run homer in the ninth, but the N.L. West champs are on the brink of elimination.
“We have all the confidence in Barry (Zito),” Bochy said. “We do need to get the bats going. They’ve been shutting us down.”