Carpenter on top of world

ST. LOUIS – Chris Carpenter was well on his way to a World Series win when, all of a sudden, people swarmed the mound to examine his hand.

No smudge, no scuffs. Just a cramp, and it wasn’t about to blemish his outing.

Carpenter looked every bit a Cards ace as he threw the Detroit Tigers a curve, pitching St. Louis to a 5-0 victory Tuesday night for a 2-1 Series edge at sold-out Busch Stadium.

“I came out tonight and had my good stuff,” Carpenter said.

He used big breaking balls to spin three-hit ball for eight innings. With Jim Edmonds hitting a key double and St. Louis taking advantage of a poor throw, the Cardinals returned their focus squarely to the field.

Gone were any reminders of the squabbling Kenny Rogers caused with his smudged left hand in Game 2.

Looking fierce with his three-day beard, Carpenter showed why he won the National League Cy Young Award last year and is a top contender this season. He struck out six, walked none and kept Detroit’s trio of Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson hitless in the Series.

Carpenter’s lone problem came in the seventh inning. After Polanco led off and lined out to good friend Albert Pujols, Carpenter hopped off the mound and looked at his hand.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, a trainer and the entire St. Louis infield converged on the mound, peering at Carpenter’s bare right hand. Plate umpire Wally Bell also went out to check as reliever Josh Kinney began warming up in a hurry.

All in all, it certainly was a lot more attention than Rogers attracted on the field after a yellowish-brown mark was spotted on his hand – he said it was a mix of dirt, spit and resin, while others claimed it was illegal pine tar.

A moment later, Carpenter was deemed to be OK. He proved it, too, by continuing to set down the Tigers to constant cheers.

“He showed everything he could do,” La Russa said. “He’s got a lot of weapons.”

Carpenter drew his biggest roar when he got a standing ovation as he came to bat in the eighth. The bottom of the eighth took a while, though, and Braden Looper relieved in the ninth and finished the combined three-hitter.

“We need to swing the bats better, obviously,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Game 4 will be tonight, provided a forecast of steady rain holds off. If it does, Jeff Suppan will start against Jeremy Bonderman.

The Tigers had homered in all 10 postseason games before Carpenter stopped them. A Detroit team that averaged 51/2 runs per game throughout the American League playoffs has scored a total of five in the World Series.

It was somewhat of a surprise, too. Carpenter gave up a season-high seven runs at Detroit in June, and the Tigers’ starting lineup was hitting .356 against him.

“No. 1, you have to credit Chris Carpenter,” Leyland said. “No. 2, we have a few guys who aren’t swinging the bat too well.”

Carpenter allowed only one runner past first base. Brandon Inge singled and made it to third in the third on a two-out wild pitch, then catcher Yadier Molina blocked a curve that bounced to keep a run from scoring. Granderson grounded out to end the inning.

Edmonds hit a two-run double in the fourth. A throwing error by Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya and a wild pitch by Zach Miner gave St. Louis its other runs.

Working on 13 days’ rest, Tigers lefty Nate Robertson opened with three hitless innings.

That’s about normal for the Cardinals – they were a weak 23-34 against left-handed starters this season.

Yet it was the lefty-swinging Edmonds who got the key hit against Robertson, who was pulled after five innings.

Preston Wilson, hitting high in the order because he was 5 for 5 lifetime against Robertson, led off with a sharp single for the Cardinals’ first hit. Pujols showed his strength and skill when, despite being a bit off-balance, lined a double down the right-field line that hopped into the stands.

When Robertson went to a 2-0 count on Scott Rolen, Leyland went to the mound. Two pitches later, Rolen walked to load the bases with no outs.

After a forceout at the plate, Edmonds came through. He pulled a hard grounder down the line that hobbled first baseman Sean Casey had no chance to get, and St. Louis led 2-0.

In the seventh, Zumaya made a poor choice on Pujols’ comebacker with runners on first and second and no outs. Zumaya tried to go to third base and threw it wide past Inge, and both runners scored.

Miner’s wild pitch gave St. Louis another run in the eighth.

Cardinals 5, Tigers 0

a-grounded out for Robertson in the 6th. b-grounded out for Perez in the 9th. E—Zumaya (1). LOB—Detroit 2, St. Louis 11. 2B—Pujols (1), Edmonds (2), YMolina (1). RBIs—Edmonds 2 (4). S—Robertson, Carpenter. GIDP—Inge, Rolen. RLISP—Detroit 1 (Granderson); St. Louis 5 (Belliard, YMolina, Carpenter 3). RMU—Rolen. DP—Detroit 1 (NPerez and Casey); St. Louis 1 (Rolen, Belliard and Pujols).

IR-S—Miner 3-1, Zumaya 1-0, Grilli 1-0. IBB—off Grilli (Edmonds) 1, off Robertson (YMolina) 1. HBP—by Miner (Pujols). WP—Miner, Carpenter. T—3:03. A—46,513 (43,975).