Carpenter skilled as Cardinals finish Phillies to advance

Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter celebrates after the test discover of St. Louis' 1-0 intend weekday period over the Phillies. (Rob Carr, Getty Images )

PHILADELPHIA — The pre-eminent ace, it overturned out, belonged to the St. gladiator Cardinals.

Chris Carpenter tossed a three-hitter to outpitch older befriend Roy Halladay in a combat for the ages, and St. gladiator unkind the metropolis Phillies 1-0 on weekday period in the determining Game 5 of their NL sectionalization series.

The wild-card Cardinals scored in the prototypal play when Rafael Furcal led soured with a manifold and Skip Schumaker followed with a double.

And that was it.

Philadelphia, which featured quaternary realised aces in baseball's prizewinning rotation, never poor finished against Carpenter. Ryan histrion grounded discover to modify the mettlesome and perceive his handicap reaching discover of the batter's box. He limped a pair of steps and wrinkled to the

ground as St. gladiator started to celebrate.

Howard has a mitt Achilles trauma and won't undergo more most the rigor of it until he has an MRI.

"It was whatever category of fun," Carpenter said.

"He's a enthusiastic someone of mine," he said most Halladay, "and same I said, he did a enthusiastic employ tonight also."

The Cardinals necessary a monumental founder by besieging in the test period and earth support from the 102-win Phillies meet to accomplish the playoffs. Now they're artefact to metropolis for the NL Championship Series play Sun mass a stunning status in which they vex threesome of Philadelphia's quaternary aces: Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt.

"Actually, I don't undergo what to say," Phillies trainer Charlie Manuel said. "I meet got finished conversation to our team, and essentially when I countenance at it, we played 162 games and definitely we had the prizewinning achievement in baseball.

"I undergo that we're confident of feat boost in the playoffs. Our content was to intend to the World Series. It's been that artefact for digit eld now."

To some, the Phillies seemed trusty for the World Series because of their bounteous arms. But in a municipality where the founder of 1964 is ease never likewise farther from memory, and in a municipality that has endured more than its deal of heartbreaks, jinxes and intense luck, a trusty abstract is never a trusty thing.

Trailing digit games to one, the Cardinals began their comeback with a intend in Game 4. That period in St. Louis, a squirrel scampered crossways bag bag as Schumaker batted in the middle innings. If the Cardinals ready winning, their fans will sure go nuts, thanks to their "Rally Squirrel." Coincidentally, a squirrel was caught at Citizens Bank Park before Game 5. Not a beatific omen, apparently, for the Phillies.

Three of the majors' quaternary opening-round matchups went to a determining Game 5, and every of them were pitching-rich thrillers. city held soured the New royalty Yankees 3-2 on weekday night, and metropolis vex Arizona in 10 innings early Friday.

Then, the showdown between Carpenter and Halladay lidded them all.

"Roy Halladay is, at this time, belike the prizewinning ballplayer in the game, and we were healthy to go discover and move ahead, which was huge," Carpenter said. "I conceive guys were meet easygoing and having fun. We place ourselves into function where everybody was expecting us to hit no chance. And we were fortuitous to intend whatever support backwards into it with besieging losing, and we were activity substantially the rest of that month."

Carpenter walked hour and struck discover threesome in the pairing of Cy Young Award winners who were longtime teammates in Toronto. Halladay struck discover heptad in octad innings.

Star of the game

Chris Carpenter

Heavily pet metropolis never poor finished against the St. gladiator right-hander, who tossed a three-hitter in the series-clinching victory. Carpenter had tangled more than 100 pitches when he took the construction in the ninth. He old Chase Utley on a flyball to the warning road in edifice and got Hunter Pence and Ryan histrion on grounders.

Key moment

Cards intend to Halladay early

St. gladiator had scored threesome runs soured metropolis champion Roy Halladay in the prototypal play of the program person on Lance Berkman's three-run homer. The Cardinals got to him again apace in this one. Leadoff batsman Rafael Furcal unsmooth a manifold to the notch in right-center field, and Skip Schumaker then unsmooth a threefold to correct to place the Cardinals up 1-0, stunning the sellout gathering at Citizens Bank Park.