Dodgers vs. Cardinals Game 3 live inning-by-inning updates
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BOTTOM OF THE NINTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1)
Juan Pierre (left field) and Orlando Hudson (second base) come in as defensive replacements for the Dodgers. Broxton begins the inning by striking out Rasmus. Molina his a short slow roller, Dodgers can make no play, Molina is safe on an infield single. Molina moves to second without a throw. DeRosa hits a comebacker to Broxton for the second out. Rick Ankiel is sent in to hit for Ryan. Broxton strikes out Ankiel to finish the game, complete the sweep and move on to the National League Championship Series.
TOP OF THE NINTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1)
Ryan Franklin now pitching for the Cardinals. Furcal grounds to short. Kemp strikes out. After singling and scoring the Dodgers’ first run in the first inning, Kemp has struck out four times. Ethier doubles just inside the leftfield line. Ethier is a single short of hitting for the cycle. Ramirez grounds to second . . . and the Dodgers are three outs away from sweeping St. Louis out of the playoffs.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1)
George Sherrill now pitching for the Dodgers. He faces two consecutive pinch-hitters. Jason LaRue pops to second, Julio Lugo walks. Ludwick hits a deep drive to left field. Fans, desperate for something, anything to cheer, give the hit a hopeful ovation. Left field, after all, is Manny territory. Just in front of the fence, Ramirez makes the catch. Crowd deflates like a punctured tire. Pujols due up next. Dodger Manager Joe Torre decides it’s Broxton time. Lugo steals second without a throw. Pujols grounds a 0-2 pitch through the right side of the infield, scoring Lugo. Holliday, who would like to forget everything that’s happened to him this series, hits an easy fly ball to right. That makes Holliday 0-for-4 for the night.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0)
Jason Motte replaces Smoltz as the Cardinals’ pitcher. He faces three Dodgers (Belliard, Martin, pinch-hitter Jim Thome) and they all ground-out to short. That will be it for Padilla, who scattered four hits over seven innings. Camera shows players in the visiting dugout lining up to hug Padilla, who gave the Dodgers much more than they could have possibly expected 2 1/2 hours earlier.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0)
Rasmus flies to left, the ninth consecutive hitter retired by Padilla. Molina doubles just inside the left-field line, setting up the brain cramp of the game. DeRosa knocks a ground ball to short, just in front of Molina, who inexplicably runs toward third, where he is an easy out, Furcal throwing to Blake. Brenly calls it a ‘horrible base-running mistake.’ Just what the Cardinals needed in a 5-0 game. Ryan ends a disappointing inning for St. Louis with Ryan flying out to center.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING (Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0)
Smoltz strikes out Furcal and Kemp. That’s five in a row for the grizzled playoff veteran. Ethier finally puts a ball in play -- a deep fly ball over centerfielder Rasmus, good for a triple. Ramirez singles to left, scoring Ethier. Loney singles to right. Smoltz is suddenly looking like a 42-year old pitcher. Game has become so one-sided that TBS cameras begin panning the stands to find shots of dejected fans. There are a lot of them, we quickly discover. Blake flies to left.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
Padilla works another 1-2-3 inning. Ludwick grounds to second, Pujols strikes out, Holliday pops to the catcher. Padilla has now retired 16 of the last 17 batters he has faced.
TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
John Smoltz, 42, so-called grizzled playoff veteran, now pitching for the Cardinals. Blake singles off the glove of Ryan. Smoltz strikes out the next three hitters he faces -- Belliard, Martin and Padilla.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
Ryan grounds to second. Joe Thurston, a former minor league player of the year with the Dodgers, works the count full, thinks the next pitch is a ball and begins jogging to first. No so fast, that was a called strike three. LaRussa is not happy with the pitch calls. Schumaker flies to deep left field, Ramirez making the catch right in front of the warning track.
TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
Dennys Reyes replaces Pineiro. Cardinals fans nod, say it’s about time. Reyes promptly strikes out Ethier and Ramirez. Loney concludes a 1-2-3 inning by grounding to short.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
Holliday is out on a fly to right, the eighth consective Cardinal retired by Padilla. Rasmus doubles down the left-field line, good for a double. Molina grounds to third, Rasmus moving to third. DeRosa lines out to Padilla, who makes a quick-reflex catch. Cardinals strand another runner in scoring position.
TOP OF THE FOURTH INNING (Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0)
Belliard singles of the glove of Ryan. Martin is out on a chopper to third, Belliard moving to second. Padilla grounds to short. Just as TBS analyst Bob Brenly observes how LaRussa doesn’t want to face Ethier in this inning, Furcal singles to left. Belliard scores on the hit. The way this game is going, there aren’t many Dodgers La Russa wants to face. Kemp strikes out.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD INNING (Dodgers 3, Cardinals 0)
Cardinals look depressed as the top of the order faces Padilla. Schumaker grounds to second, Ludwick grounds to Padilla, Pujols pops to short. That’s seven consecutive Cardinals retired by Padilla.
TOP OF THE THIRD INNING (Dodgers 3, Cardinals 0)
After Padilla grounds to short, Furcal singles to right for his fifth hit of the series. After Kemp strikes out, Ethier homers to right, his second home run of the series. Ramirez doubles to left-center, his second double inning. A nervous hush falls over Busch Stadium. The home crowd is so quiet you can hear Pineiro drop a throw from Pujols. That error enables Loney to reach first base and Ramirez to advance to third. Blake hits into a force play at second.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND INNING (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0)
Padilla matches Pineiro with a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Mark DeRosa strikes out, Brendan Ryan grounds to second, Pineiro strikes out.
TOP OF THE SECOND INNING (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0)
An easy inning for Pineiro. He strikes out Casey Blake, gets Ronnie Belliard to ground to third and Russell Martin to ground to short.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0)
Vincente Padilla makes the start for the Dodgers because he was 4-0 in the regular season and Chad Billingsley was winless in his, oh, last 27 starts, wasn’t it? Tony LaRussa, who likes to tinker with his lineup, using 135 different lineups in the regular season, mixes it up again. He moves Ryan Ludwick up to the No. 2 slot behind Skip Schumaker. With one out, it looks like a good move, Ludwick singling to right. Albert Pujols follows his another single to right, Ludwick stopping at second. Matt Holliday, Game 2 goat in Los Angeles, steps to the plate to cheers by the home crowd. He hits a come-backer to Padilla, both runners advancing. Colby Rasmus is next. Padilla looks shaken, uncorking two wild throws that Russell Martin has to scramble to stop. Eventually, Padilla walks Rasmus. With the bases loaded, Yadier grounds to short. Three more runners left on base for the Cardinals, now 3-for-25 with runners in scoring position in this series.
TOP OF THE FIRST INNING (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0)
Joel Pineiro, a 15-game winner during the regular season, is pitching for the Cardinals. He opens by getting Rafael Furcal to fly to center. Matt Kemp hits a slow grounder to short, Brendan Ryan runs in to grab it but his throw is not in time to beat Kemp. Infield single for Kemp. Andre Ethier flies to left. It’s Manny Time. Ramirez delivers, hitting a deep drive into the gap in left-center, uncatchable, scoring Kemp. Double for Ramirez. James Loney flies to right
Join us right here later for Mike Penner’s live inning-by-inning coverage of the Dodgers vs. Cardinals in Game 3 of their National League division series.
Can the Dodgers sweep the Cardinals out of the playoffs? Were the Cardinals totally demoralized by the Dodgers’ comeback in Game 2?
Vicente Padilla will be on the mound for the Dodgers, with Joel Pineiro on the mound for St. Louis.
You can also follow Diane Pucin’s running commentary on how TBS is doing with their broadcast here. And you can follow the in-game box score here. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. Pacific.