Brewers doomed in Game 3 by bad start

ST. LOUIS So many times in baseball games, the first inning sets the tone for the next eight. Other times, though, the first frame is a bit of an anomaly. In Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, the Milwaukee Brewers played eight solid innings but fell, 4-3, to the St. Louis Cardinals after the proverbial "one bad inning." The Cardinals put up four runs in the first inning off Yovani Gallardo, becoming the fourth team in Major League Baseball history to score in the first inning of five straight postseason games. The big start proved the difference in what became a pitching battle, as neither team scored after the third inning. "I was obviously concerned after the first inning, not knowing what we were going to do offensively," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said after the game. "We bounced back nice in the second and third inning. Thought we had real good at-bats off Carpenter and I felt real good. "When we got (within) 4-3, I felt good. I thought we were going to score some more runs." The first inning Wednesday was a diverse combination of problems for the Brewers. They actually started in a favorable situation with men on first and second base with one out thanks to a walk and a hit batter that seemed to put Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter on the ropes. Things changed quickly though, as Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder drove a ball to left center field that was caught and center fielder Mark Kotsay was put out trying to retreatto second base. "I just got too far into no-man's land and couldn't get back to the base," Kotsay said. Roenicke said the misread may have been a result of irregular playing time, as baseball instincts might not be as sharp for a player who isn't in the lineup every day. It was Kotsay's first start since Sept. 25. Kotsay's early woes didn't end on the offensive side, however, as a hit by Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay went right under Kotsay's glove for a run-scoring double, putting St. Louis ahead, 1-0. Gallardo struggled the next few hitters, allowing an RBI double to Albert Pujols before walking two straight batters. "I think he lost his command there," Roenicke said. "Maybe it was because he was throwing some pretty good pitches and they were hitting, I don't know. Maybe he was trying to paint too much, but his command did get off there." The final run in the first came on a David Freese double that went off Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart's glove. The first inning was taxing for Gallardo, as he threw 33 pitches. Gallardo bounced back to throw four scoreless innings and allow three hits despite battling command issues the whole time. "It's tough, especially in the first inning," Gallardo said. "You never want to throw more than 15 pitches in one inning, period. But that's a pretty good lineup, they battle. If you don't come out right, they're going to make you struggle from the beginning of the game." Once the Brewers put the first inning behind them, though, the game seemed to swing in their favor. They scored two runs in the second inning and another on a Kotsay home run in the third to come within reach. "From that point forward I think the game really switched hands," Kotsay said. "I think we had most of the momentum in the game, but we just couldn't get that big hit and that last run across." The Brewers felt good about their effort to battle back, but also recognized they missed some opportunities to draw even. The St. Louis bullpen also played a role in that, as four relievers recorded 12 straight outs to end the game. In the big picture, winning eight innings doesn't always cut it in baseball. The Cardinals won the significant inning Wednesday and the Brewers ended up with just a moral victory, which doesn't play into the Cardinal's 2-1 series lead. With a different first inning, the story may have been very different. "They beat us, they played better, they scored more runs," Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. "We didn't take advantage when we had the chance to get guys in. We just got beat, straight up."