Cardinals rock Kershaw, take Game 1 againstDodgers

Matt Carpenter hit a go-ahead three-run double off Clayton Kershaw in an eight-run seventh as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 10-9 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a fiery NL Division Series opener Friday night.

"It makes it more fun when you're playing against somebody that is known as being the best pitcher in the game," said Carpenter, who also homered off Kershaw.

The Dodgers took a 6-1 lead in the fifth, but after Carpenter's three-run double gave the Cardinals a 7-6 lead, Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer off Pedro Baez to make it 10-6.

St. Louis withstood a two-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth and won when Trevor Rosenthal blew a 100-mph fastball past Yasiel Puig with a runner on third. He reached 100 mph on five of the seven pitches in the at-bat.

"I'm sure everybody in baseball was expecting a one-run game," Carpenter said. "We ended up getting one, but we didn't think it would be 10-9."

Kershaw, who had a 1.77 ERA this season, was charged with five of the Cardinals' eight runs in the seventh and fell to 1-4 with a 5.19 ERA in the postseason. "Obviously my fault to let them get back in the game," said Kershaw, who struck out 10 in 62/3 innings. "We have a great team, and if I don't get in the way, we have a pretty good chance to win that game."

Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright allowed six runs and 11 hits in 42/3 innings. "I stunk, and those guys just completely picked me up. I was so proud," he said. "The guys never quit and kept chipping away against the toughest pitcher out there and, gosh, it's a huge win."

It was 92 degrees at game time, and things quickly got even more heated. Wainwright hit Puig with a pitch leading off the third, triggering a bench-clearing scrum. There was shoving and shouting, but no punches were thrown.

Puig later gave Wainwright a friendly pat as he took his base. "I walked over to Yasiel and I said, 'Hey, that was my bad. I didn't mean to do that,' '' Wainwright said. "I just didn't want it to be a sideshow. Obviously you don't want to wake a sleeping dog, and I didn't want our team to lose its focus. I tried to clear the air there." -- AP