Dodgers Even Series With Cardinals After 3-2 Win on Saturday

Zack Greinke, for the Dodgers, and Lance Lynn, for the Cards, pitched extremely well in the second game of the NLDS series between the two teams. Greinke gave up 2 hits, both doubles, in his 7 inning stint. Lynn, although giving up 7 hits, held the Dodgers to just 2 runs and kept the Cardinals in the game for 6 innings.

J.P. Howell relieved Greinke to start the top of the 8th. Dodger manager, Don Mattingly, had the game set up the way he wanted it. Howell, a lefty, would face three left handed batters in pinch hitter Oscar Taveras, Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay.

Taveras singled singled on an 0-2 count. Matt Carpenter jumped on the first pitch he saw from Howell and drove it 400' over the right center field wall for a 2 run home run. Zack Greinke had thrown 105 pitches in his 7 inning shutout performance and the Cardinals tied the game on 4 pitches from Howell.

The Dodgers scored their two runs in the bottom of the third. AJ Ellis led off the inning with a double to right center. Greinke followed with a single to right and LA had runners at the corners with no outs.

Dee Gordon hit a slow roller to second. Greinke hesitated just long enough that the Cardinal 2nd baseman, Kolten Wong, in his haste to get the speedy Gordon at first, tagged Greinke with the glove only and threw to first to complete what appeared to be a double play. Ellis would score on the play.

Don Mattingly challenged the play noting that Wong did not have the ball in the glove when he applied the tag. Mattingly won the challenge and Greinke was awarded 2nd base and the double play was just a 4-3 ground out.

Two batters later, Adrian Gonzalez singled to right to score Greinke for the 2-0 Dodger lead.

Carpenter's home run in the top of the 8th, silenced the 54,000+ Dodger fans who had been very loud throughout the game. The crowd wasn't silent too long as Matt Kemp, leading off the bottom of the 8th, sent a 2-1 slider from reliever Pat Neshek into the bleachers in left to regain the lead for the Dodgers.

Kenley Jensen set the Cardinals down in order in the top of the 9th to preserve the win for Brandon League while Neshek took the loss for the Redbirds.

With the series tied at one game apiece, the teams head to St. Louis to continue the NLDS on Monday the 6th of October.