ST. LOUIS Breaking down the NL Division Series Game 1 at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium:
Cardinals 9, Pirates 1: Cardinals leads series, 1 0
State of the Series: The Cardinals gained the early upper hand by rolling to an easy win. ET Friday with Lance Lynn (15 10, 3.97) pitching against Pirates rookie Gerrit Cole (10 7, 3.22).
BOX SCORE: Cardinals 9, Pirates 1
HISTORY: Beltran ties Ruth for most postseason HRs
Game 1 Pivot Point: St. Louis broke a scoreless tie with a seven run third inning. Carlos Beltran opened the scoring with a booming three run home run that traveled 443 feet and smacked off the facing of the second deck in right field. David Freese hit a two run double and the other runs scored on a bases loaded walk to Jon Jay and a throwing error by right fielder Marlon Byrd.
Man of the Moment: Right hander Adam Wainwright won 19 games in the regular season and pitched like an ace Thursday as he held the Pirates to one run and three hits in seven innings, with nine strikeouts and one walk. The only blemish was a 437 foot home run to Pedro Alvarez in the fifth inning near the spot where Beltran’s was hit.
Manager’s Special: Pirates manager Clint Hurdle waited forever to pull Burnett, even though it was evident in the first two innings that he couldn’t throw his signature curveball for strikes. By the time Hurdle finally made a change and went to Jeanmar Gomez, the Cardinals were ahead 7 0.
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