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 "It's been a day full of emotions, for sure," Cardinals third
baseman Matt Carpenter said. "We clinched. Everybody got excited.
The lineup changed. Then it goes back in a mode of going out and
trying to win a game. It was an all-round great day."
Second baseman Kolten Wong, one of the few Cardinals regulars who
started the game, drove in the only run of the game on a groundout
in the sixth inning for a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks
on Sunday at Chase Field.
Right-hander Justin Masterson (3-3), the second of six Cardinals
pitchers, pitched two scoreless innings for the victory.
Manager Mike Matheny opted to scratch scheduled starter and 20-game
winner Adam Wainwright as he warmed up in the bullpen, after
Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh, 4-1, to eliminate the Pirates from
contention.
That game ended about 13 minutes before the Cardinals began, and in
that time Matheny altered his lineup to give Carpenter, left fielder
Matt Holliday, catcher Yadier Molina, shortstop Jhonny Peralta and
center fielder Jon Jay the day off.
Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma, one of the late additions, doubled
with one out in the sixth inning off right-hander Josh Collmenter
(11-9), took third on a groundout and scored on Wong's grounder to
shortstop against a drawn-in infield.
"Just watching this is special," said Matheny as Molina poured
champagne over his head, gave him a hug and whispered in his ear.
"It is something we never, ever take for granted. What stands out to
me in this group is how we believe in each other."
St. Louis (90-72) made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive
season, the third time in as many years under Matheny. The Cardinals
have won eight division titles and split four World Series
appearances since 2000, last winning the World Series in 2011 in
Tony La Russa's last season as manager.
La Russa, named the D-backs chief baseball officer in May, watched
the game from the general manager's box at Chase Field.
The Cardinals moved into first place in the division on Sept. 1 and
never left, going 17-9 in September.
"You can do whatever you want to until September," Wainwright said.
"You falter in September or play great in September, it makes the
whole season. When the Brewers had their hiccup, we stepped our game
up."
The Cardinals will open the best-of-five NLDS against the Dodgers
(94-68) in Los Angeles on Oct. 3 in the first game of a five-game
series.
"It's been kind of an all-day celebration," Wainwright said. "It's
not we won the game and that propelled us into the postseason. When
you clinch before the game, you have a whole day to think about
being a division champ. It's a little different."
Second baseman Cliff Pennington had two hits for the Diamondbacks
(64-98), who finished with the worst record in baseball and the
second-worst record in franchise history. They were 51-111 in 2004.
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"It was a tough season all year long especially getting off to such
a bad (8-22) start," said Collmenter, who gave up three hits in
eight innings.
"We played some pretty good ball through the middle, then some key
injuries. We were constantly battling that."
Pennington singled to open the third inning and moved up on two
infield groundouts before being stranded at third. He was the only
D-back to get as far as second base.
Rookie left-hander Nick Greenwood, filling in for Wainwright, gave
up a single in three scoreless innings in his first major league
start before Masterson entered.
Left-hander Marco Gonzalez pitched three scoreless innings and
right-hander Carlos Martinez got the final two outs for his first
save.
Collmenter was 3-2 with a 1.26 ERA in his final seven starts. His
ERA was third in the major leagues since Aug. 22, trailing only San
Francisco's Jake Peavy (1.17) and Pittsburgh's Francisco Liriano
(1.23).
"I just wanted to finish the season strong," Collmenter said. "There
was talk about potentially shutting me down or curtailing my
innings, but once we had some management changes that get thrown out
the window. I think they wanted to see what I could do."
NOTES: St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (20-9, 2.38 ERA) is expected to
pitch the NLDS opener at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 3. The
Dodgers are expected to start LHP Clayton Kershaw (21-3, 1.77). The
two finished 1-2 in the NL Cy Young Award voting last year, when
Kershaw won for the second time in three years. Wainwright was 5-0
with a 1.38 ERA in September, when Kershaw was 5-0 with a 1.95 ERA.
... Arizona RF David Peralta (.289), LF Ender Inciarte (.280) and SS
Chris Owings (.261) ranked 1-2-3 among NL rookie hitters entering
the final game of the season (minimum 300 at-bats).
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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