Cardinals 1, Phillies 0
Chris Carpenter scattered three hits in a complete-game gem and Skip Schumaker had an RBI double in the first inning as the St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the National League Championship Series with a stunning 1-0 road triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday in Game 5 of the NL Division Series.
St. Louis will face NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. Game 1 is on Sunday in Milwaukee. The Cardinals won five of their last six against the Brewers to earn a season series split (9-9).
Phillies starter Roy Halladay (1-1) struggled out of the blocks for the second straight time in the series. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner permitted a leadoff triple to Rafael Furcal before Schumaker followed with a double to silence the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
The slow start was a familiar one for Halladay, who yielded three first-inning runs in Game 1 before retiring 21 consecutive batters in Philadelphia's 11-6 victory.
His best friend, Carpenter (1-0), was just a bit better on Friday. The 36-year-old did not walk a batter and struck out three.
Shane Victorino had two of the three hits for NL East champion Philadelphia, which recorded a franchise-record 102 wins this season.
Ironically, it was a Phillies' sweep of the Atlanta Braves to end the regular season that helped the Cardinals secure a postseason berth.
On the last out of the game, Phillies slugger Ryan Howard stumbled out of the batters box and appeared to injure his foot or ankle as the Cardinals celebrated. He had to be assisted off the field.