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NLDS Game 5 Preview

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In the deciding game 5 of the National League Division Series, the Cardinals and the Phillies will send their ace to the mound in hopes of advancing in the playoffs.

Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay were 1st round draft picks by the Toronto Blue Jays that went on to become Cy Young Award winners and the hurler that their teams count at crunch time. Pressure will be on each man to help carry his team to the National League Championship Series, where their squad will face the winner of the Diamondbacks/Brewers series.

The Phillies, who entered 2011 as the favorite to represent the National League in the World Series, set a franchise record with 102 wins in the regular season. They could see their dreams crushed much earlier than was anticipated.

St. Louis has been the hot club down the stretch, having won 11 of their final 15 regular season games to clinch a playoff berth.


Friday, 8:37 PM. Chris Carpenter (0-0, 12.00 ERA in 2011 postseason) vs. Roy Halladay (1-0, 3.37 ERA in 2011 postseason). In his last 10 starts, Halladay is 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA. Halladay has a 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA in 4 career postseason starts. In 16 home starts this year, including the postseason, Halladay has a 9-3 record with a 2.56 ERA. Halladay has a 3-1 record with a 2.37 ERA in 5 career starts against St. Louis. In his last 3 starts of the regular season, Carpenter went 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA, but he allowed 4 earned runs in just 3 innings against the Phillies in game two of this series last Sunday. Carpenter has a 5.33 ERA in 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. The three-time All-Star, Carpenter, has a 5-2 record with a 3.38 in 10 career postseason starts.


In 38 career postseason games, Lance Berkman has a .307 batting average with a .979 OPS. The six-time All-Star, Berkman, is 3-for-18 (.200 avg) in this series.

Lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes posted a 5.84 ERA in 23 regular season games after the All-Star break this year.

Albert Pujols is 7-for-17 (.412 avg) in this series. Pujols is 10-for-25 (.400 avg) in 6 games at Citizens Bank Park this year, including the postseason.

In 45 career postseason games, Carlos Ruiz has posted a .259 batting average with 4 HR and 15 RBI. Ruiz is just 1-for-15 (.071 avg) in this series.

Jimmy Rollins is 9-for-17 (.563 avg) with 6 runs scored in this year's NLDS. Rollins is batting .249 in 73 home games this year.

Placido Polanco, who went 0-for-17 against the Cardinals in the 2006 World Series for the Tigers, has gone 2-for-16 (.125 avg) in this series. Polanco has a .426 OPS in 14 career NLDS games.

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