Dodgers Sweep Cardinals

NFL News - October 11th, 2009 - Written by John

If momentum is a car, then the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis was a Mercedes-Benz SSK. Classic and pure in every sense of the word and a poignant example of how breathtaking it can be. Breathtaking, in this case, as in having the wind sucked out of your lungs.

The St. Louis Cardinals were stunned on Thursday when Matt Holliday botched the would-be last out of Game Two, opening the door for a two-run ninth inning. It gave the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead, and they carried that into Saturday night. Vicente Padilla, who was added to the roster in early September, tossed seven innings of shutout baseball and Los Angeles swept the Cardinals with a 5-1 win.

“Anytime you win a series it’s good,” Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake said. “But to sweep the Cardinals, it just doesn’t happen. I would have never guessed we would have swept them.”

Manny Ramirez finally broke his skid with three hits and two RBIs, and the Dodgers scored all five of their runs with two outs. It was the second year in a row Los Angeles is heading to the Championship Series after a sweep. They are in line to meet either the Phillies or the Rockies in the next round, who's series was delayed a day due to inclement weather.

Holliday had an uneventful day, but only had one hit. Albert Pujols didn't shine either, going 1-for-4 with St. Louis' only RBI. His team seemed to tank after winning the NL Central, going 1-9 through the teams final 10 games including the playoffs. They are the first Cardinal team in franchise history to not win a single playoff game when qualifying.

Padilla was brilliant in his playoff debut with the Dodgers. He was cut by the Rangers in August, but went 4-0 in September after being picked up by Los Angeles. He only faced a scare in the first inning, loading the bases, but retired 19 of his next 21 batters. In all, the Cardinals stranded 28 runners in the series, leaving many wondering what could've been.

“It’s hard to believe we’re thinking about next year,” said outfielder Ryan Ludwick. “It just seems a long way away.”

Los Angeles jumped up to a big lead off Joel Pineiro when Ramirez, who had been 1-for-8 in the series, lined a double to the wall to score Matt Kemp.

“I was just trying to be more aggressive,” Ramirez said. “Anything on the plate, I was ready for.”

Andre Ethier took it from there, pounding a Pineiro offering to right-center for a two-run shot that sucked the wind out Busch Stadium's record-crowd. Ethier was Los Angeles' best hitter throughout the series, getting a hit in six of his 12 at-bats with three RBIs and nearly hit for the cycle on Saturday. Rafael Furcal also made a case for series MVP, going 7-for-12.

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