World Series: Cardinals vs. Tigers - Game 3

FOX Broadcasting Team:
Play-by-Play: Joe Buck
Analysts: Tim McCarver
Reporter: Chris Meyers, Ken Rosenthal

Trace Adkins will be singing the National Anthem and Jo Dee Messina will sing "G-d Bless America" during game 3. For Game 4, it's Billy Ray Cyrus and Sugarland, respectively. All this per Tim McKernan.

Lineups
Cardinals
David Eckstein SS
Preston Wilson LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Rolen 3B
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Jim Edmonds CF
Yadier Molina C
So Taguchi RF
Carpenter P
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Chris Carpenter

Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Craig Monroe LF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen SS
Ivan Rodriguez C
Sean Casey 1B
Brandon Inge 3B
Nate Robertson P
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Nate Robertson

Chris Carpenter takes on Nate Robertson in the first of three games to be played at Busch Stadium during the World Series. Carpenter is 3-4 in 11 starts against the Detroit Tigers with a 7.03 ERA. I'd wager to say that most of those starts were while he was with the Blue Jays. Fungoes has the career OPS records against each pitcher. Nate Robertson has never faced the Cardinals although he has faced David Eckstein, Preston Wilson, and Ronnie Belliard in prior years. Preston Wilson will likely start in the game today given his numbers against Robertson (5-5 with two home runs).

Tiger hitters vs. Carpenter:
Pudge Rodriguez 9-26
Magglio Ordonez 5-18
Neifi Perez 3-14
Sean Casey 6-13
Carlos Guillen 3-11
Placido Polanco 2-7
Brandon Inge 3-5
Curtis Granderson 2-4
Craig Monroe 1-3
Marcus Thames 1-3
Vance Wilson 1-2

Carp has to be the most careful with Pudge, Mags, and Casey.

That's a winner and the St. Louis Cardinals take a 2-1 series lead as Chris Carpenter and Braden Looper combine shut out the Tigers 5-0, thanks to some bad defense on the Tigers part.

We'll see you tomorrow night!

How we scored tonight:
In the bottom of the fourth, Jim Edmonds doubled to right, scoring both Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols scored.
In the bottom of the seventh, Albert Pujols reached on a fielder's choice but Joel Zumaya bad a bad throw to third, scoring both David Eckstein and Preston Wilson.
In the bottom of the eighth, with bases loaded for Albert Pujols, So Taguchi scored on a wild pitch.

We've managed to shut down Curtis Granderson (0-13), Pudge Rodriguez (0-11) and Placido Polanco (0-10) during the World Series. Carp was dealing, going 8 strong innings, fanning 6, and giving up 3 hits and no runs. Carp only through 82 pitches the whole game.

In the World Series, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen have brought their bats with them and are batting a combined .429 through three games. Rolen has an 8 game hitting streak. Jimmy Hollywood's career is definitely winding down and it would be sad to see him retire after this season, or sign with another team. I'd like to see another season or two from Jim Edmonds as a Cardinal but check out this article from Yahoo.

Jim Edmonds' nickname is "Hollywood," a reference to the 36-year-old center fielder's uncanny knack for coming through when everybody is watching.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa surely had that in mind when he kept putting Edmonds in the lineup against lefties this year, despite a puny .156 batting average against them.

Sure enough, facing Detroit Tigers southpaw Nate Robertson in Game 3 of the World Series, Edmonds put his name in lights yet again.

The St. Louis Cardinals' elder statesman, prone more to musing about retirement in a season plagued with injury and struggles at the plate, lined a key double down the first-base line off Robertson in the fourth inning Tuesday night for the first runs in St. Louis' 5-0 victory.

Here's a line from his press conference after the game: "I knew it might be one of the last times I played here."

In the post season, Carp was 2-1 with 3.70 ERA and 17 K. I'll have the stats updated tomorrow on here to reflect the new numbers.

St. Louis 5, Detroit 0
Winning pitcher - Chris Carpenter (1-0)

The last World Series shutout by Cardinal pitching was 1985's Game 4 against the Royals. Gibson shut 'em out in 1968 and Dizzy Dean did so in 1934.

We can win this thing. I know it. You know it. Cardinal Nation mot definitely knows it. Especially with the defense of the Tigers, or lack there of.