“What a team, What a ride.” Revisiting the 2011 St.Louis Cardinals, Part 2

So the Cardinals had made it. After being down and out, after a September run for the history books, the Cardinals were in the playoffs as the Wild Card team. Their reward for their historic run? A division series date with the best team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies. With their intimidating pitching staff that had been shutting down the National League all season, few gave the Cardinals much of a chance.

Game 1 followed the script for the most part. After a rough start Roy Halladay shut down the Cardinal offense while the Phillies lineup went to work. A towering Ryan Howard home run the focal point as the Phillies took Game 1. Game 2 had Cliff Lee and the Phillies on a roll early on, only for the Cardinals to come back and even the series. The two games in St.Louis were split meaning that the series came back to Philadelphia for one final game. The highlight coming into Game 5 was the pitching.

Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay. Two longtime friends, facing off with their seasons on the line. It was to this day, one of the best games I’ve ever watched. Carpenter was out of this world and so was Halladay. An RBI by Skip Schumacher in the top of the first ended up being the only run as Chris Carpenter threw a 3 hit shutout. The best team in baseball was down and out, and the Cardinals were still standing.

Awaiting in the NLCS was a famillar foe in the Brewers.