Cardinals Blow Out Dodgers in Playoff Opener
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ST. LOUIS – Larry Walker homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals tied a postseason record by hitting five home runs, overwhelming Odalis Perez and the Dodgers 8-3 yesterday in the opener of their NL playoff series.
Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Mike Matheny also connected. Add in a strong six-inning performance from Woody Williams, and the Cardinals looked every bit as dominating as they did in leading the majors with 105 wins.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is tomorrow night at Busch Stadium. Jason Marquis pitches for St. Louis against Jeff Weaver.
The Cardinals pulled away quickly in this one, hammering Perez for three homers in 2 2 /3 innings.
Matheny connected off Elmer Dessens in the fourth to make it 7-0.After the Dodgers cut the deficit to 7-2, Walker homered again off Giovanni Carrara in the seventh.
The Cardinals are one of four teams to hit five homers in a postseason game, joining the 1984 Cubs (NLCS), the 1928 Yankees (World Series), and the 1989 Athletics (World Series).
A slugfest was one thing that Dodgers manager Jim Tracy feared. And Perez, who has complained about the lack of run support, couldn’t complain this time.
Edgar Renteria, 3-for-21 in his last six games, had a two-run double in the five-run third that broke open the game. Edmonds, who entered the postseason in a 1-for-29 slump, followed with a two-run homer to chase Perez.
Walker, who was 1-for-15 against Perez in the regular season, got the two out, third-inning rally started with his two-out homer on the first pitch.
Perez, making his first career postseason start, faced a tall order since the Cardinals had the three best hitters against left-handers in Pujols (.379), Scott Rolen (.371), and Renteria (.366). Plus, Pujols was 6-for-10 against him in the regular season with two homers, two doubles, and seven RBI.
Williams labored somewhat, throwing 116 pitches with two strikeouts and one walk. The Dodgers scored in the fifth on consecutive doubles by Cesar Izturis and Jayson Werth, and added a run in the sixth on Adrian Beltre’s single and Alex Cora’s two-out triple. Tom Wilson hit a two-out homer in the ninth for Los Angeles.
