Off Topic » of their five unbeaten September starts ... Kershaw was as

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals knocked around Clayton Kershaw in another postseason stunner. Carpenters four RBI included a three-run double in an eight-run seventh inning and the Cardinals held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-9 on Friday to open their NL Division Series. Kershaw and Adam Wainwright squared off in the first postseason game in 45 years to feature two 20-win starters with sub-2.40 ERAs. But what was supposed to be a pitchers duel between two staff aces turned into a slugfest, and Kershaw saw the worst of it. The presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner retired 16 batters in a row between Randal Grichuks one-out homer in the first inning and Carpenters two-out blast in the sixth, and his team had a 6-1 lead after scoring six runs off Wainwright in 4 1/3 innings. But the first four Cardinals batters hit singles in the seventh, starting a deluge that didnt end until Kershaw was on the bench, presumably wondering how the NL Central champions got the best of him again. Last year, Kershaw gave up seven runs in four innings in the decisive Game 6 of the NL Championship Series, which the Cardinals won 9-0 to reach the World Series for the third time in eight years. He was the first pitcher in major-league history to give up seven runs or more in back-to-back postseason starts. I feel terrible. Its an awful feeling to let your teammates down, said Kershaw. They were playing great, got a bunch of runs for me and I couldnt hold it. The Dodgers brought the go-ahead run to the plate twice in the ninth inning against Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal but scored just once and stranded the tying run at third base when Yasiel Puig struck out. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Saturday in Los Angeles. Weve been through a lot, said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. I dont think we have to defend ourselves as a team. Well be ready tomorrow. It was a loss tonight. Its gotta be put behind us. Kershaws pitching line was stunning: eight runs and eight hits, but also 10 strikeouts and no walks in 6 2/3 innings. Also a strong candidate for NL MVP, Kershaw (0-1) had won his last seven starts. Matt Holliday added a three-run homer in the seventh inning for the Cardinals, who clinched their second straight division title on the final day of the season. A.J. Ellis had four hits for the NL West-champion Dodgers, including a two-run homer off Wainwright. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer off Randy Choate in the eighth to get the Dodgers with two. Tempers flared in the third inning after Wainwright hit Puig in the arm. The next batter, Gonzalez, jawed with catcher Yadier Molina, causing the benches and bullpens to clear, though no punches were thrown. The bad blood dates to Game 1 of the NLCS last year when Dodgers star Hanley Ramirez was hit in the side, and was bolstered by several bean-ball incidents this season. Matt Adams hit the fourth straight single for the Cardinals in the seventh, knocking in the first run. Jon Jay added a one-out RBI single and Carpenter fouled off five pitches before stroking his double off the right-center field wall, changing the tone of the game. They got a couple guys on base and they gained confidence really fast, said Kershaw. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny explained the rally as his players taking a simpler approach against Kershaw and not trying to do too much. And then you just hope someone comes up with a big hit, he said. Carpenter had a double off Kershaw to spark a four-run third inning last year in Game 6. On Friday, he said he was just trying to keep the line moving in a big inning. I was able to get a pitch I could handle and get the barrel on and hit into the gap, he said. Holliday hit his 13th career postseason home run off Baez, drawing a pained look from Kershaw in the dugout as the Cardinals turned a 6-2 deficit into a 10-6 lead. After Puig drew a one-out walk off Carlos Martinez in the eighth, Gonzalez hit a 1-1 slider to right-center to get the Dodgers within two run and Dee Gordon had an RBI groundout in the ninth. The Dodgers scored after Puig was hit in the third, sparking a two-run rally. The two-out runs came on Ramirezs single and Carl Crawfords ground-rule double. Puig and Matt Kemp added RBI singles in a two-run fourth and Ellis chased Wainwright with his homer to left in the fifth, which made it 6-1. Game Notes Kershaw eight) and Wainwright (six) gave up the same number of runs in this game that they allowed in each of their five unbeaten September starts ... Kershaw was asked about a comment made on the TV broadcast that he might be tipping his pitches to Cardinals players when he works out of the stretch. I think thats discrediting their team when you start thinking about that, Kershaw responded. Thats just a cop out ...Grichuk, a rookie outfielder, had just three homers in 116 plate appearances during the regular season ... Marco Gonzales (1-0) threw a perfect sixth for the win ... The Cardinals went 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded just one runner. The Dodgers were 4-for-11, leaving 11 men on base. Fake Air Max 2019 Cheap . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Fake Air Max 95 Cheap .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have activated defenceman Joni Pitkanen from injured reserve. http://www.fakeairmax.com/ . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Cheap Fake Air Max . Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. Fake Air Max 98 Cheap . -- Louisville backup quarterback Reggie Bonnafon ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and the No.New Hibernian boss Neil Lennon says promotion to the top flight is his main priority for next season. The former Celtic manager signed a two-year contract at Easter Road on Wednesday as the Scottish Cup winners found a replacement for Alan Stubbs, who joined Rotherham on June 2.Stubbs departed Hibs having delivered the Scottish Cup to Leith for the first time in 114 years with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Rangers in the first final between two lower-league clubs. And now Lennon, who spent 18 months in charge of financially-troubled Bolton, is relishing the opportunity to continue Hibs revival, starting with the qualifying campaign for next seasons Europa League.Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, he said: Im very excited and I think its a fantastic club, one of the biggest in Scotland, and off the back of winning the Scottish Cup there is a real feel-good factor around the club.There is a good squad of players here and my challenge now is to get Hibs up into the Premiership. Its going to be difficult but not beyond us, Im very excited about it. Anthony Stokes runs to celebrate with Scottish Cup match-winner David Gray Ive always had admiration for the club, obviously from the affinity with my playing days and managing days with Celtic. I know the club very well. Ive had a look at the facilities, I know the stadium, and the training ground is as good as it gets, and its a club that Ive always had a soft spot for.But I know its a major job Ive got on my hands off the back of following what Alan Stubbs has done, and Id like to continue in that same vein.I think the potential here at the club is huge. Its a big-city club as well which is another attraction. Its got a big fan-base and we have to make them competitive and hard to beat. Lennon has set promotion to the Scottish Premiership as Hibs top target next season Lennon insists he has no problem with critics reviewing his time at Bolton, where he kept the club in the Championship against the odds in his first season.ddddddddddddThe Irishman believes the experience has been as beneficial as winning three successive Premiership titles with Celtic and guiding the Hoops to the last 16 of the Champions League.You are going to get judged anyway, but I think most people know the circumstances at Bolton were almost impossible to work in with the financial trouble that they found themselves in, he added. Alan Stubbs lifts the Scottish Cup at Hampden after Hibernian beat Rangers They did have relative success in the first season, the second season was difficult because we had virtually no money to spend, we had to cut the wage bill by 50 per cent, but we did have success in bringing through academy recruits who are assets to the club now that they never had before.It was a real experience. You learn from good experiences, you learn from bad experiences, and its certainly made me a better all-round manager now. Again, people can judge what they like on the Bolton scenario, the future now is with Hibs and I hope to prove a lot of people wrong.Lennon now has the task of building on the momentum at his new club after the historic Scottish Cup victory at Hampden Park on May 21. Lennon with the Scottish Premiership trophy he won three times at Celtic He insists that success played no part in his decision to replace Stubbs, but he is relishing the challenges ahead with Dundee United, Dunfermline and Falkirk all hoping to secure that automatic promotion spot next season.It had no real relevance on taking the job. For the supporters it was monumental, the first time in 114 years, and believe me theyve been taking a lot of stick for not winning the cup for a long, long time, he said.Great for the players, great for Alan, it was a great achievement, but the remit is to get promotion, to get out of the Championship, and back where we feel Hibs can thrive, and that is in the top division. Also See: Hibs appoint Lennon Hibs fixtures ' ' '