NL Playoffs, Game 1: St. Louis Cardinals 10, Houston Astros 7 St. Louis Cardinals third-baseman Scott Rolen picked a perfect time to break his 0-for-14 post-season hitting slump with a key hit in the fifth inning of St. Louis' win over the Astros in Wednesday night's opening game of the NL Championship Series. Another key hit came from streaky Jim Edmonds, who's been whiffing a lot lately. But Edmonds also performs well against Houston pitching, and he came through last night with a three-run double in St. Louis' monster sixth inning. Larry Walker also had a good night, hitting a single, double and triple, and the Cards got six good innings out of starter Woody Williams.
Houston's sluggers got in the game as well, with homers from Carlos Beltran (who I hope cools off immediately), Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman and Mike Lamb. But it just wasn't enough.