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The St. Louis Cardinals are now one game away from advancing to their second straight World Series. The Red Birds beat the Giants Thursday night 8-3, getting key plays from unusual suspects like Daniel Descalso, Pete Kozma and Matt Carpenter. Dan Moore of Viva El Birdos writes everything about the Cardinals playoff run has been unconventional and at times, downright absurd.
It's incredible how quickly the status quo can swallow things that were absurd a few weeks ago. Pete Kozma was 2-4 with an RBI, but this feels like one of the St. Louis Cardinals' more textbook victories of the postseason. Adam Wainwright threw seven strong innings and everybody-crucially an everybody led by Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Allen Craig, and the guy batting second-pushed runs across the plate at a pace somewhere between "manufacturing" and "rally-killing."
The Cardinals send Lance Lynn to the mound for Game 5 against Barry Zito. Lynn was roughed up for four runs in just 3 2/3 innings in Game 1 of the NLCS. The Cardinals and their fans likely aren't taking the Giants lightly despite the 3-1 series advantage considering the Giants just finished winning three straight road elimination games to advance to the NLCS. Game 5 is set for 5 p.m. PT from Busch Stadium in St. Louis.