2011 National League Championship Series

2011 National League Championship Series

Team (Wins) Manager Season St. Louis Cardinals (4) Tony La Russa 90–72, .556, GB: 6 Milwaukee Brewers (2) Ron Roenicke 96–66, .593, GA: 6
Dates:	October 9–16
MVP:	David Freese (St. Louis)
Television:	TBS
TV announcers:	Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz
Radio:	ESPN
Radio announcers:	Jon Sciambi (Games 1–3, 6), Dave O'Brien (Games 4–5), Bobby Valentine (Games 1–4, 6), and Buck Martinez (Game 5)
Umpires:	Gary Darling (crew chief), Tim Timmons, Sam Holbrook, Mike Everitt, Bill Miller, Mike Winters
NLDS:	St. Louis Cardinals over Philadelphia Phillies (3–2)
	Milwaukee Brewers over Arizona Diamondbacks (3–2)
< 2010 NLCS 2012 >
2011 World Series

The 2011 National League Championship Series (abbreviated NLCS) was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, against each other for the National League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World Series. The series was the 41st in league history.

The series began on October 9^[1] to accommodate the World Series, which was scheduled to begin on October 19.^[2] TBS televised all games in the United States with Game 1 starting at 4:05pm EDT.^[3] Games 1, 2 and 6 were played at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while the other games were played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. By coincidence, Brian Anderson, who usually calls Brewers games on Fox Sports Wisconsin during the regular season, did the play-by-play for the NLCS on TBS, along with Ron Darling and John Smoltz. Anderson filled in for regular TBS lead baseball announcer Ernie Johnson, who was tending to a son in the hospital.^[4]

This was the Brewers' first ever appearance in the NLCS, having moved to the National League in 1998. As an American League team, the Brewers made the ALCS in their pennant season of 1982, defeating the California Angels 3–2. Thus, the Brewers became the first franchise to play in the LCS as a member of each league. The Cardinals, meanwhile, appeared in the NLCS for the first time since winning the 2006 World Series. This was a rematch of the 1982 World Series (a.k.a. the "Suds Series", with both cities associated with the brewing industry—Milwaukee, whose ballpark was named after the Miller Brewing Company, and St. Louis, whose Anheuser-Busch company is namesake of the Cardinals' ballpark), in which the Cardinals won 4–3.

Summary

Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis won the series, 4–2.

Game summaries

Game 1

Sunday, October 9, 2011 – 4:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ^[5]

Game 1 would be a back and forth affair. The Cardinals manufactured a run in the first with a walk by Jon Jay, a single by Albert Pujols, and a two-out single from Matt Holliday. The Brewers answered with a two-run home run from Ryan Braun in bottom half. The Cardinals would go ahead in the fourth on a David Freese three-run home run and would add on a run with a Lance Berkman single in the fifth. The Brewers came storming back in the fifth. The inning began with a Corey Hart single and a Jerry Hairston double. Braun then hit a ground-rule double, making the score 5–4. Prince Fielder put the Brewers ahead with a two-run home run and Yuniesky Betancourt hit another two-run home run to make it 8–5 Brewers. A Pujols double-play grounder would make it 8–6, but the Brewers got the run back with a Jonathan Lucroy RBI single in the seventh. Francisco Rodríguez would pitch a scoreless eighth inning and John Axford would get the save in the ninth as the Brewers took Game 1, 9–6.

Game 2

Monday, October 10, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ^[6]

The Cardinals' offense erupted on Shaun Marcum for Game 2, with Albert Pujols leading the way with a home run, three doubles, three runs scored, and five RBIs. The Brewers had a chance to put the game within one run in the fifth, but Rickie Weeks grounded into a double play with the bases loaded, killing the Brewers rally. The Cardinals rallied for four more runs in the seventh to put the game away. The Cardinals won 12–3, tying the Series at a game apiece as well as potential momentum going back to St. Louis.

Game 3

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri ^[7]

The Cardinals rallied for four runs in the first inning off Yovani Gallardo, but the Brewers tried to come back, scoring two runs in the second and another in the third on a Mark Kotsay home run. The Cardinals bullpen proved to be the difference, pitching four scoreless innings of relief for Chris Carpenter, giving the Cardinals the 4–3 win and a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

Thursday, October 13, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

Brewers starter Randy Wolf kept Milwaukee from falling into a 1–3 series deficit, throwing seven stellar innings, striking out six batters. The Brewers scored two runs to tie the game in the fourth inning, with Jerry Hairston Jr. hitting an RBI double to score Prince Fielder, and Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a single to score Hairston. The Brewers scored another run in the fifth on a single by Ryan Braun, and another run in the sixth, thanks to a crucial error by Ryan Theriot. Though the Cardinals had the tying run at the plate in three of the last four innings, Wolf, along with relievers Francisco Rodríguez and John Axford, shut the Cardinals down to even the series at two games apiece and guaranteeing that the series would end in Milwaukee. It was also the Brewers first playoff win on the road since Game 1 of the 1982 World Series.

Game 5

Friday, October 14, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

The Cardinals took advantage of four Milwaukee errors to grab a 3–2 series lead. Octavio Dotel got the win in relief of Jaime García and Jason Motte earned another save. Matt Holliday's two-run double in the eighth put the game out of reach.

Game 6

Sunday, October 16, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Cardinals got off to a quick start, scoring four runs off Shaun Marcum in the first. Lance Berkman got things started with an RBI single. Series MVP David Freese hit a three-run blast to extend their early lead. Marcum would last only this one inning. The Brewers got a run right back on a leadoff solo shot by Corey Hart in the bottom half of the inning, but the Redbirds would make it a four run game again as Rafael Furcal homered to make the score 5–1 in the second. Milwaukee would start to claw their way back in their half of the inning, as Rickie Weeks and Jonathan Lucroy hit a pair of home runs to make the score 5–4. In the third, however, Albert Pujols led off with a solo shot of his own. St. Louis would add three more runs to give themselves a commanding 9–4 lead. In the ninth, with the score 12–6, Cardinals closer Jason Motte came on to pitch in a non-save situation. Motte struck Mark Kotsay out swinging to end the game and give St. Louis the National League Pennant.

Composite box

2011 NLCS (4–2): St. Louis Cardinals over Milwaukee Brewers

References

External links

• 2011 NLCS at Baseball-Reference