Michael Wacha pitched into the seventh, and the St Louis Cardinals bullpen combined to shutout the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight day and winning 1-0 Saturday for a 2-0 lead in the NL Championship Series. Relievers Randy Choate and Carlos Martinez pitched the eighth for St. Louis before turning it over to Trevor Rosenthal.
The Cardinals managed only two hits off Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, but Jon Jay‘s sacrifice fly set up by Freese’s double and A.J. Ellis‘ passed ball in the fifth stood up. In 22 2/3 innings in his last three starts, Wacha has given up two runs on seven hits with 26 strikeouts and five walks.
“We don’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “We don’t deny also what’s happened here the last two days.
Game 3 is Monday at Dodger Stadium, with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright facing rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers have already used their top two starters and have nothing to show for it.
