NLCS Game 3: Cardinals Have Dodgers on the Ropes
By Mike Cardillo
Who knew late Friday night Mark Ellis getting gunned downed by Carlos Beltran in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the NLCS would be the closest the Dodgers would come to pushing a man across the plate the rest of the series? The Cardinals pitching staff has blanked the Dodgers lineup for 19 consecutive innings. Los Angeles is a paltry 1-for-24 with runner’s in scoring position and sits in an 0-2 hole going into tonight’s Game 3 at Dodgers Stadium.
It looks bleak for the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig and Juan Uribe have combined for 10 strikeouts. Unless they get another win, Clayton Kershaw won’t throw another pitch in 2013. Hanley Ramirez’s is going to try to play through a hairline fracture in his rib, perhaps that will provide a “spark.”
The Cardinals throw postseason stud Adam Wainwright and are nine innings away from a commanding 3-0 series lead. Dodgers hand the ball Korean rookie Hyung-Jin Ryu, who lasted only three innings in his Game 3 NLDS start vs. the Braves, allowing four runs.
If Ryu isn’t able to match Wainwright, by the fourth or fifth inning the TBS broadcast is going to shift toward shots of celebrities sitting in Dodgers Stadium rather than the game itself. Wait, that’s not entirely true, if the producers in the truck want to get the celebs they’ll have basically a one inning window around the third. Dodgers fans get there late and leave early, isn’t that the old cliche? (I kid, I kid.)
The unofficial over/under on shots of Tommy Lasorda tonight is 6 1/2. Figure we’ll see Alyssa Milano in some capacity, too. It’d be a mild surprise if TBS didn’t have some cast members from that dopey new workplace comedy they’ve been pitching all postseason planted in Dodgers Stadium. If we’re really lucky we’ll have a 2-3 minute Pete Holmes interview by David Aldridge in the fifth inning.
Instead of any of this broadcast synergy, TBS should cut to Pedro Martinez saying Michael Wacha’s name a couple times during the game. It’s pure gold.