Cardinals score 10 in first to wallop Braves, reach NLCS
With a stunning outburst their first time up, the visiting St. Louis Cardinals scored 10 runs for the biggest opening inning in postseason history and dealt the Atlanta Braves another playoff heartbreak with a 13-1 rout in decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday.
“That was crazy,” said Marcell Ozuna, one of five players who batted twice in the first inning. “We got a good opportunity — and we took it.”
Before many fans had reached their seats, the Cardinals were already booking their plans for the NL Championship Series, where they’ll face the Washington Nationals.
For the Braves, it might take awhile to get over this debacle.
After pitching seven scoreless innings in a Game 2 win, Mike Foltynewicz retired only one hitter before getting yanked. First baseman Freddie Freeman made a crucial error that might have limited the damage. The Cardinals scored their final run of the inning on a strikeout — a wild pitch in the dirt that skipped away from catcher Brian McCann.
It was Atlanta’s 10th straight postseason round loss since its last victory 18 long years ago, tying the ignominious mark set by the Chicago Cubs between 1908 and 2003.
After the 10-run outburst, the Cardinals had no need to worry about any more offense with Jack Flaherty on the mound, coming off one of the great second halves by a starting pitcher in baseball history.
“We took the crowd out of it,” Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler said. “We knew Folty would try to get ahead of us. We were trying to get some good pitches to hit. It was a little easier to see the ball today.”
The 23-year-old righthander had not given up more than three runs in 15 starts after the All-Star break, posting a 0.91 ERA. He certainly wasn’t going to let this massive lead get away, though Josh Donaldson — in perhaps his final game with the Braves — gave the fans a brief reason to cheer in a 13-0 game when he homered over the centerfield wall in the fourth.
Manager Mike Shildt let Flaherty throw 104 pitches over six innings, surrendering four hits and that lone run for the first postseason win of his blossoming career.
This one, though, will long be remembered for what happened before Flaherty even took the mound.
The Cardinals batted around and got more than halfway through their order a second time. Tommy Edman, Fowler and Kolten Wong all had two-run doubles in the inning. BRAVES’ MCCANN RETIRES >> McCann’s Atlanta homecoming didn’t end the way he hoped.
McCann is retiring after a 15-year career that included two stints with his hometown Braves, making the announcement after the loss to St. Louis.
“It’s sad but it’s time,” the 35-year-old said softly in the somber Atlanta clubhouse as he made his announcement. “I had a long career. Fifteen years is a long time, catching every day. I got to play in my hometown.”
McCann, from Duluth High School in the Atlanta area, played his first nine seasons with the Braves. Following three seasons with the New York Yankees and two with Houston, McCann returned to Atlanta this season and hit .249 — his highest average since 2013 — with 12 homers and 45 RBIs while he shared playing time with Tyler Flowers. NATIONALS SLAM DODGERS >> Howie Kendrick hit a tiebreaking grand slam off Joe Kelly in the 10th inning, and the Washington Nationals overcame a three-run deficit with a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 and advance to the NL Championship Series against St. Louis.
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw blew a 3-1 lead by allowing homers to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto on consecutive pitches in the eighth.
The wild-card Nationals open the NLCS at St. Louis on Friday night. The NL West champion Dodgers, who led the NL with 106 wins, remain without a World Series title since 1988.