Yadier Molina

Albert Pujols spent his biggest moments of the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff opener with his bat sitting idly on his shoulder, thanks to some canny managing by Joe Torre. And with St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter decidedly off his game, Pujols and the rest of the Cardinals wasted a staggering number of chances to help him out. St. Louis stranded 14 runners in Los Angeles' 5-3 victory Wednesday night, repeatedly failing to come through against the Dodgers' six pitchers. "We definitely had our opportunities, and we couldn't take advantage of them," said Ryan Ludwick, who left the bases loaded in the fourth inning — ... Read Full Story

Chris Carpenter will start on three days' rest if the St. Louis Cardinals make it to Game 4 of their division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said on Saturday before Game 3 that he also considered Kyle Lohse and John Smoltz, both of whom have been in the bullpen during losses in the first two games. Carpenter struggled in the series opener, allowing four runs and walking four in five innings. La Russa said the 17-game winner played catch and felt good enough to pitch on Sunday. La Russa has never started Carpenter on three days' rest. ... Read Full Story

Tony La Russa's not certain he wants to return for a 15th season as the St. Louis Cardinals' manager. Then again, he didn't expect his decision-making process to begin this soon. The Cardinals were the first National League team to clinch a division title, loaded with star power in the lineup and two Cy Young candidates in the rotation. They were the first team to go home after getting swept in the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. La Russa was disappointed by the Cardinals' response after Matt Holliday's dropped fly ball for what would have been the final out in Game 2, ... Read Full Story

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has shaken up his lineup for Game 3 of the division series in a bid to avoid elimination by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Usual fifth-place hitter Ryan Ludwick was moved to second in front of Albert Pujols in the lineup going against Dodgers right-hander Vicente Padilla in Saturday night's game. Colby Rasmus was hitting fifth. The rookie hit fifth only eight times, having batted second about half of the season. The Cardinals batted .300 the first two games, but totaled only five runs. Rasmus was 3 for 6 in the series with one RBI and Ludwick was ... Read Full Story

Albert Pujols hit his 32nd homer, Ryan Ludwick drove in four runs and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Friday in the opener of a four-game series leading into the All-Star break. Pujols and Ludwick reached base four times apiece. Pujols added two RBIs to reach 85 and also hit his first triple of the season. Chris Carpenter (7-3) worked six innings, allowing seven hits and three runs with six strikeouts. The Cardinals' ace improved his career record against the Cubs to 9-3, including 6-2 at Wrigley Field. The victory put the first-place Cardinals eight games over .500 and knocked ... Read Full Story