By Thom Henninger
Chris Carpenter’s Thursday afternoon outing in Cincinnati was little more than a tuneup for his first postseason start, but it turned out to be a day to remember. The St. Louis right-hander hit a grand slam in a five-run second inning, sparking the Cardinals to a 13-0 romp over the Reds.
The Cardinals ace also doubled home a pair of runs in a four-run fifth, setting a franchise record for pitchers by driving in six runs. When he wasn’t busy at the plate, he was working five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk, and striking out six Reds.
It turns out Carpenter also played prophet, according to Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after telling teammates the last few days that he was going to hit a home run in his final regular-season start. That’s something Carpenter had never done in the major leagues, but there he was, rounding first base and pumping his fist after jumping on a first-pitch fastball from Kip Wells with the bases loaded. When Carpenter returned to the dugout, Hummel said the pitcher inquired whether the fist pump was permissible under baseball code. He had the entire bench laughing.
“He had a Bob Gibson type of day,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “He beat us pitching and hitting.”
Carpenter became the first Cardinals pitcher since 1920, when RBIs became an official statistic, to have six RBIs in one game. Gibson drove in five runs during a 13-1 win over the New York Mets on July 26, 1973.
If that wasn’t good enough, the 33-year-old veteran improved to 11-0 with a 1.58 ERA against the National League Central in 2009. No pitcher this season has won more games within a division without posting a loss. Only two other hurlers have more won more than five times without a loss. They are Houston’s Roy Oswalt and the Phillies’ J.A. Happ. Oswalt was 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA against the NL West. Happ was 6-0 (2.40 ERA) facing the NL East.
Thursday’s victory was Carpenter’s fourth of the season over the Reds. With a grand slam and six RBIs, which doubled his career total, he improved to 37-12 lifetime against NL Central foes.
