ST. LOUIS ? �Octavio Dotel did not attempt to downplay his big strikeout of Ryan Braun with two outs in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS.
"I feel like I saved the game right there," the St. Louis Cardinals reliever said after�Friday's 7-1 victory that put the team one win away from the World Series.
A handful of lockers away, starter Jaime Garcia was busy explaining his feeling about not getting the opportunity to finish the frame and be the one to retire the Milwaukee Brewers slugger.
"Obviously, when you're pitching, you want to go as deep as you can," the lefthander said. " ... I was ready to pitch against him. I was focused in on the pitch I was going to make."
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The contrast between the two interviews in the Cards clubhouse on Friday night was as odd as the photos atop this post. It isn't every day that a starter cedes the postgame spotlight to a middle reliever after giving up just one run in a postseason win that puts his team on the brink of the Fall Classic.
Then again, the way that St. Louis manager Tony La Russa has managed this series has been anything but orthodox. When he pulled Garcia in the fifth and inserted Dotel with two outs and two runners on, it marked the fifth straight game that St. Louis would not see its starter work at least six innings.
According to Elias, no team has ever won a postseason series when their first five starters did not go more than five innings pitched. The Cardinals, though, are in position to become the first because La Russa made the decision to not allow Garcia the chance to break the streak on Friday night.
With Garcia having already allowed three hits and a run in the frame, La Russa's mind flashed back to Garcia's start in Game 1 of this series. The Cards manager wasn't about to allow a repeat of that fifth inning, when Garcia faltered and the Brewers posted a six-spot that defined the victory. He called for the right-handed Dotel and then marched out to the mound to get the ball from Garcia so he could play the righty-righty matchup.
The body language from Garcia as he handed the ball to La Russa suggested that he wasn't happy to have someone else finish his own business. He then returned to the bench where he buried his head in his hands, looking like someone who had experienced a much rougher night than he had posted.
Though he was obviously disappointed in the heat of the moment, Garcia tried to put on a happier face after the game.
"We got the win and that's what matters," he said.
A closer examination of the data also might have shown Garcia that it was not just about the homer and two doubles that Braun has victimized him for this series. Coming into the at-bat, Braun was 2-for-9 with seven strikeouts against Dotel and La Russa has been playing the most favorable matchup all series long.
"I wasn't really thinking that I was going to be in the game in that situation, because Jaime was throwing a really good game," Dotel said after the game. "But then when he got to Ryan Braun ... it was kind of quick and that's when I started to realize that the game can be changing against Braun and lefty against righty. So I just put it in my mind at that moment."
Dotel's success continued as he struck out Braun on a high slider after working him down and away during the at-bat. The inning ended and the Brewers were unable to mount a better chance for the rest of the game.
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