When the Cardinals signed Chris Carpenter, they hoped to add depth for the second half of the 2003 season. Instead, they discovered an ace for their 2006 and 2011 World Series championships. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound righthander was drafted by the Blue Jays 15th overall in the first round of the 1993 draft out of Trinity […]
How the Cardinals signed future Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter 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 Game
How the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series Read More »
The Cardinals opened the 2011 World Series using the same recipe that got them there in the first place: dependable starting pitching, timely hitting, and sparkling relief. Thanks to a diving play from starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, a two-run single by Lance Berkman, and three shutout innings from the bullpen, the Cardinals beat the Rangers
October 19, 2011: Cardinals win World Series Game 1 Read More »
Early in the 2011 season, a five-inning start from Chris Carpenter wouldn’t have been enough for the Cardinals and their beleaguered bullpen. By October, however, 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, Marc Rzepczynski, and Jason Motte
October 12, 2011: Cardinals bullpen stars in NLCS Game 3 win Read More »
On paper, Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series between the Cardinals and Phillies appeared 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 fifth game when David Freese drove in
October 7, 2011: Carpenter outduels Halladay to send the Cardinals to the NLCS 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 with inflammation of a bursa sac located between his right shoulder and rib cage, 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,
May 24, 2006: Adam Wainwright homers in his first MLB at-bat 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. The veteran of 11
April 27, 2005: Mark Grudzielanek hits for the cycle Read More »
Heading into the Cardinals’ three-game, early-June series against the Chicago Cubs, 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 he had
June 4-5, 2011: Albert Pujols hits back-to-back walk-off home runs against the Cubs 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 »