When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Chris Carpenter in December 2002, they believed they were adding pitching depth for the second half of the 2003 season. Instead, they uncovered the ace who would help lead the franchise to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011. A 6-foot-6 right-hander drafted 15th overall by the Toronto Blue […]
How Chris Carpenter signed with the Cardinals Read More »
After rallying from 10 ½ games back in the National League wild-card race and falling behind five separate times in their 10-9 Game 6 victory over the Rangers, a 2-0 first-inning deficit didn’t seem like much for the 2011 Cardinals to overcome. Six unanswered runs later, the Cardinals had a 6-2 victory in World Series
2011 World Series Game 7: Cardinals clinch their 11th title Read More »
“Give up a ground ball right there that scores two runs, that’s unfortunate,” Wilson said. “Other than that, I thought I minimized damage and pitched strategically.”[3] The Rangers tied the score in the top of the fifth. Adriane Beltre led off the inning with a single, and after Carpenter struck out Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli
2011 World Series: Game 1 Read More »
Early in the season, a five-inning start from Chris Carpenter wouldn’t have been enough for the Cardinals and their beleaguered bullpen. By the time the 2011 NLCS Game 3 rolled around, the Cardinals’ once-shaky bullpen had become key to their success, as evidenced by the four innings of scoreless relief provided by Fernando Salas, Lance Lynn,
2011 NLCS Game 3: Bullpen shines in Cardinals win Read More »
With Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay taking the mound, Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series between the Cardinals and Phillies was primed for a pitching duel. The result more than lived up to expectations. After the Phillies captured two of the first three games in the series, the Cardinals forced the decisive
Chris Carpenter outduels Roy Halladay: 2011 NLDS Game 5 Read More »
Things could not have looked much worse for the Cardinals early in Game 2 of their October 2, 2011, National League Division Series match-up against the Phillies. One day earlier, they lost the series opener 11-6 as Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, a graduate of Wildwood’s Lafayette High School, launched a three-run homer as part
Cardinals rally vs. Cliff Lee to win 2011 NLDS Game 2 Read More »
When defending Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter was scratched from his May 24 start against the Giants, the 2006 Cardinals pitching staff was dealt a blow. In Carpenter’s place, the St. Louis pitching staff started dealing some blows of its own, including an Adam Wainwright home run on the first pitch he saw in
Adam Wainwright homers in his first MLB at-bat: May 24, 2006 Read More »
On the day that Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter celebrated his 30th birthday, it was Mark Grudzielanek who stole the show. In the Cardinals’ 6-3 victory over the Brewers on April 27, 2005, Grudzielanek joined Lou Brock and Ray Lankford as the only Cardinals to hit for the cycle at Busch Stadium. A veteran of 11
Mark Grudzielanek hits for the cycle: April 27, 2005 Read More »
Heading into the Cardinals’ three-game series against the Chicago Cubs in June 2011, Albert Pujols was experiencing a power outage. By the time the Cardinals left Busch Stadium with three victories – including back-to-back walk-off home runs – he had reminded everyone once again why Tony La Russa considered Pujols to be the greatest player
Albert Pujols walks off two wins vs. the Cubs: June 2011 Read More »
Admittedly, this story about Chris Carpenter’s 2005 Cy Young Award-winning season got quite a bit longer than I originally intended. As a result, this is the fourth in a four-part series of articles. You can find the other parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 On September 8, Chris Carpenter earned win No.
How Chris Carpenter won the 2005 Cy Young Award (Part 4) Read More »