The Cardinals beat the Brewers, 4 – 3, to take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. St. Louis jumps to a 4 – 0 lead with three doubles against Yovani Gallardo in the bottom of the 1st. But Cards starter Chris Carpenter also struggles. giving back three of the runs over the next two frames and leaves after five innings. However, he is helped by a strong bullpen performance, with Jason Motte getting the save as no other runs are scored after the early fireworks.

The Tigers win Game 3 of the ALCS, 5 – 2, over Texas, but still trail the Rangers, 2 games to 1. Doug Fister allows a 1st-inning run, but then settles down, not giving up another score until the 8th. But by that time, Detroit has put five runs across the plate, on solo homers by Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta off Colby Lewis, another by Miguel Cabrera off Koji Uehara, and a two-run single by Austin Jackson.

Ranger left fielder Nelson Cruz hits the first walk-off grand slam in major league playoff history when his 11th inning round-tripper beats Detroit, 7-3, in Game Two of the ALCS. The victory in Arlington gives Texas a 2-0 advantage in the seven-game series.

The Rangers take a 2 – 0 lead in the ALCS on a walk-off grand slam by Nelson Cruz off the Tigers’ Ryan Perry in the 11th inning, for a 7 – 3 win. Cruz had tied the game earlier with a solo home run in the 7th. All of Detroit’s runs come on a three-run shot by Ryan Raburn in the 3rd.

The Cardinals beat Milwaukee, 12 – 3, in Game 2 of the NLCS. Albert Pujols gets things started with a two-run homer off Shaun Marcum in the 1st, then adds three more doubles, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored in the rout. The Series is even at a game apiece.

Milwaukee takes the opening game of the NLCS with a 9 – 6 win over St. Louis. The Brewers trail, 5 – 2, in the 5th when they explode for 6 runs. Ryan Braun, who had homered earlier, drives in two runs, then Prince Fielder and Yuniesky Betancourt homer and the Brew Crew is on its way. Zack Greinke is the winner over Jaime Garcia, although neither pitches particularly well.

Redbird right-hander Chris Carpenter out pitches Roy Halladay, throwing a three-hitter to beat the Phillies 1-0 in the deciding Game 5 of NLDS. The wild-card Cardinals plate the game’s only run in the first frame when Skip Schumaker doubles home Rafael Furcal, who led off the Citizens Bank Park contest with a triple.

2011 – The Texas Rangers take the first game of the 2011 ALCS over the Detroit Tigers with a rain-soaked 3 – 2 win over ace Justin Verlander in Arlington. They score two early runs against the 24-game winner, one on a solo homer by Nelson Cruz in the 4th, before Verlander leaves after a 5th-inning rain delay. Rangers starter C.J. Wilson also has to depart early, but five relievers allow only a hit and a walk in the last 4 1/3 innings; Alexi Ogando is the winner.

The Cardinals cause a huge upset by shutting out the Phillies, 1 – 0, in Game 5 of the NLDS. Chris Carpenter is the hero, tossing a three-hit complete game on the road and besting Phillies ace Roy Halladay. The Cards score the game’s only run in the 1st inning when Rafael Furcal leads off the game with a triple and Skip Schumaker follows with a double.

The Brewers fight off the resilient Diamondbacks to win the other NLDS, 3 games to 2, with a 10-inning 3 – 2 win. The Brewers take a 2 – 1 lead into the 9th, but for a rare time closer John Axford falters, allowing hits to Gerardo Parra and Sean Burroughs to start the inning, after which Willie Bloomquist sends the game into extra innings with a squeeze bunt. But the Brewers score the winning run in the 10th on a single and a steal by Carlos Gomez, followed by a game-ending hit by Nyjer Morgan off J.J. Putz. The Brewers’ win means that all four of this year’s Division Series winners were outscored by their opponents.