Cards Take 2-0 Lead Over Dodgers

The St. Louis Cardinals are one win away from their third trip to the NLCS in five years. The bottom of the Cards’ lineup shined in an 8-3 win in game two. Edgar Renteria, Reggie Sanders and Mike Matheny, who comprise the 6-7-and 8 spots in the batting order, went 8-10 with five RBI and five runs scored. Matheny drove in four of those runs. Los Angeles led 1-0 early on a first-inning homerun by Jayson Werth. The Cards stormed back with three in the third. St. Louis tied the game when a Jeff Weaver pick off attempt got away, allowing a run to score. Tony Womack’s RBI triple and Larry Walker’s RBI double put the Cards up 3-1. Shawn Green and Milton Bradley hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to tie the game, and knock starter Jason Marquis out in the process. The Cards scored three more in the fifth on an RBI single by Renteria and a two-run single by Matheny. Another two-run single by Matheny made it 8-3 in the seventh. The Cards bullpen threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Dan Haren pitched two of those innings, and got the win. The Cardinals lead the series 2-0. Game three is Saturday night in Los Angeles. Matt Morris starts for the Cardinals. Jose Lima gets the call for the Dodgers.