Carpenter Leads Cardinals to Victory in Postseason Debut

Cardinals utility man Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run in his first  at-bat of the postseason. (David J. Phillip)

The St. Louis Cardinals have a long history of unexpected postseason heroes. Tonight, they added one more player's name to that list. In his first at-bat of the postseason, utility man Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run to give the Cardinals the lead for good.

As the game began, it appeared that this would be just another typical day where Carpenter rode the bench and helped fill out the roster. However, when Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran suffered a left knee injury running out a double play in the first inning, it was Carpenter who got called in to replace the injured veteran.

Carpenter wasted little time before making a huge difference. He came up to bat for this time with the San Francisco Giants leading 1-0 and two outs in the bottom of the third inning. Carpenter was set to face one of the best pitchers in baseball, Giants ace Matt Cain. He made full contact on a two-strike slider that soared deep into the crowd for a game-changing two-run home run.

The game lasted much longer after this play, but the Giants were never able to tie or regain the lead again. Carpenter's clutch hitting was vastly important to give the momentum and lead needed to help their bullpen successfully close out the game. He probably never even expected to play, let alone becoming the catalyst to bringing his team one step closer to a return to the World Series. You never discount the significance of a player on your team. They might just be waiting to have their Matt Carpenter moment of a lifetime when your team needs it the most.