Cards 8, Padres 5

I'm surprised that ESPN would set this game for noon in Central time. It featured two of the season's best pitchers - Carpenter and Peavy - and could have been marketed well as the featured prime time game. The Cards won largely on strong offense and good pitching from Carpenter. With Peavy injured, the prospects for Padres look dim for the last two games of the series, which will force them to throw a mediocre No.4 or No. 5 starter. The Cardinals hit well and got good production from a range of players, not just Pujols. They're hard to beat when Pujols gets good support.

Bad news - though the media didn't focus much on it- is that the Cardinal relievers nearly lost the game. They gave up all 5 runs after Carpenter's stellar 6+ innings. Isringhausen loaded the bases before escaping in the ninth, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate before ending the inning. The other playoff teams feature stronger lineups that might be able to capitalize on such a situation.