LOS ANGELES • The decision that determined the game the Cardinals forced Los Angeles’ dugout to make.
In the seventh inning Sunday of a tie game – “locked horns,” as manager Mike Matheny called it – he had two pinch-hitters ready to face Dodgers reliever Joe Blanton, both with familiarity and success against the righthander. A runner stood at second and first base was open, so LA’s rookie manager Dave Roberts could choose which of the pinch-hitters Blanton would face: the hitter with the strong numbers against him or the one with stronger, in that order.