Dodgers Bullpen Leads 5-3 Upset vs. Cardinals in Game 1: With every major sports-book in the world not giving them a fighting chance in this year’s National League Division Series, especially in Game 1, the Los Angeles Dodgers hammered the St. Louis Cardinals and their bullet-proof ace, Chris Carpenter (0-1, 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 7.20 ERA), 5-3, and took a 1-0 lead last night at Dodger Stadium.
"We beat a great pitcher. Not a good pitcher, a great pitcher," Dodgers manager Joe Torre emphasized after Game 
1. Going into this series, Carpenter was 5-0 against the Angelinos giving up just 3 runs in his last 32 innings against Torre’s lineup.
Not only did the Dodgers beat a great pitcher, but they also got some terrific relief from what I consider the best bullpen in baseball. "They did an unbelievable job of cleaning up my mess," Game 1 starter Randy Wolf (ND, 3.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 4.91 ERA) said. Wolf’s control was never there last night, as he loaded the bases in the first inning, but escaped seemingly unscathed with a textbook double-play.
But with the bases juiced again later on, Torre decided to pull him. "I usually have the starter decide his own fate," said the former Yankees manager. "But Don Zimmer taught me that this postseason stuff is all about not being patient, and doing what you feel you need to do at the time you need to do it."
It’s worth noting that Jeff Weaver (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) came in and gave the Dodgers a great lift off the pen, getting them out of the jam and thus becoming the winning pitcher. "There probably wasn't a bigger out to get," Torre stated.
Already down 1-0, Dodgers centerfielder Matt Kemp blasted a 2-run moonshot in the Chavez Ravine night that put Los Angeles ahead 2-0 in the early going and they never relinquished the lead from there. But all and all, the Dodgers Bullpen was the difference in the game, as Torre used five relievers including flame-throwing closer, Jonathan Broxton who was called early on to face Albert Pujols in the 8th inning.
"He just scares the hell out of me," said Torre. "I'll give you an example: In the eighth inning I bring in Broxton even though he wasn't the tying run. I just felt at that point that's who I wanted to pitch to him."
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