Dodgers vs. Cardinals live inning-by-inning updates: Dodgers win, 3-2

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BOTTOM OF THE NINTH (Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2)

Can the Dodgers do it? The Cardinals bring in lefty Trever Miller to face Ethier, who hit less than .200 against lefties during the season. Ethier pops to second. Manny is up, and LaRussa is taking Miller out for his closer, Ryan Franklin. Franklin has a really disturbing looking beard. Ramirez flies to center. For a moment, just for a moment, you could hear the crowd exult as if it was going to be a homer. As Vin Scully says best, they were looking at it with their hearts and not their eyes. James Loney hits a liner to left field, but Matt Holliday misplays it and Loney reaches second on a two-base error. Blake walks. That leaves it up to Ronnie Belliard, who singles to center to tie the score! The fans go crazy! But it’s only tied. Can Russell Martin win it? On a 2-0 pitch, the ball gets away from Molina, the runners advancing to second and third. And Martin walks. Mark Loretta pinch-hits for Sherrill. Can Loretta win it? He does, singling to center. Dodgers win, 3-2 to take a 2-0 series lead!.

TOP OF THE NINTH (Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1)

George Sherrill is pitching. Molina grounds to second. DeRosa singles to left. Colby Rasmus hits a sinker to left that Manny tries to misplay, but somehow the ball lands in his glove. Troy Glaus, who is wondering why the Dodgers haven’t brought out the Rally Monkey, flies to deep center.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH (Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1)

Blake flies to center. Belliard strikes out. Martin singles to center. Jim Thome comes up. The Thome acquisiton is either a good one or bad one depending on what happens right here. Thome is hit by a pitch. So the jury is still out on the acquisition. Furcal is up, and for the first time in Game 2 the Dodger Stadium crowd is creating some real energy. Hudson pinch-runs for Thome and is almost picked off first, which would have really buried him deep in Torre’s doghouse. Furcal works the count full. The tension is thick. You can see Dodgers fans behind home plate holding their breath as the pitch is delivered. And Furcal walks, loading the bases for Matt Kemp. Does LaRussa stick with Wainwright? Yes. And Kemp GROUNDS TO FIRST. Really. Grounds to first. The Dodgers ground to first for the millionth time this game. The inning is over. And that is why Adam Wainwright is the favorite to win the Cy Young Award.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH (Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1)

Jonathan Broxton is in the game? Is Torre trying to wear the guy out for some reason? Did the rest of the bullpen get stuck in traffic? Pujols pops to second. Holliday grounds to short. Ludwig (yes, you win Dick Stockton) grounds to short.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH (Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1)

Ethier pops to short on the first pitch. Way to work the count and tire out Wainwright late in the game. Manny swings and misses at a pitch and accidentally hits catcher Molina in the head with his follow through. Catchers really don’t get enough respect for what they go through every game. Wainwright must be tiring because he is taking a lot of time between pitches now. Manny strikes out in a nine-pitch at-bat. Really nice breaking pitch by Wainwright to catch Manny looking. Loney hits the ball hard, but Holliday runs it down in left-center).

TOP OF THE SEVENTH (Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1)

DeRosa singles. Colby Rasmus doubles to deep center, scoring DeRosa, but Rasmus is thrown out trying to advance to third on the throw home. If that run holds up, you could say Colby Rasmus is ‘The Big Cheese’ for the Cardinals. Wainwright pops to short. Former Dodger legend Julio Lugo singles, and that brings Joe Torre out of the dugout with the hook. Decent game by Kershaw, who is replaced by Ronald Belisario. Brendan Ryan is up. Could the chain he wears around his neck be any bigger? Does he put it on his tires when it snows? Ryan flies to center.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 1)

Martin flies to center. Kershaw hits a roller up the middle, Lugo makes a nice play to grab the ball anbd throw Kershaw out. By the way, have you ever noticed that Kershaw is wearing No. 22? Does that mean the Dodgers will never retire Franklin Stubbs’ number? Furcal hits a liner to right that Ludwig loses in the sun, so the ball drops for a hit. Kemp, obviously tired of listening to Bob Brenly explain how a clock works, hits a slow roller to short, and the throw to second just barely beats a sliding Furcal for the third out.

TOP OF THE SIXTH (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 1)

Pujols hits a rocket to left for a single. Holliday pops to first. Pujols takes second on a wild pitch. Ludwick (OK, you win Dick Stockton, we’ll start calling him Ludwig too.) lines to third. Blake throws to second to try and double off Pujols, but there’s nobody covering the bag. Luckily, Belliard was positioned at just the right place to catch the throw several feet past second base. Molina hits a sinker to center, and Kemp makes a great catch. If Kemp can ever improve the breaks he gets on the ball when it is hit, he could win a Gold Glove out there.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 1)

TBS starts this half-inning by showing Kershaw pounding his glove in, as Bob Brenly said ‘A rare show of emotion for the kid.’ Um, he only does that every game. Way to show no one there has ever watched the Dodgers play. Loney strikes out looking. Blake GROUNDS TO FIRST. Now seriously guys, what did we just talk about last inning? Belliard strikes out.

TOP OF THE FIFTH (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 1)

Colby Rasmus leads off. Have you ever tried a grilled cheese, but instead of using American, you use two slices of Colbyrasmus? It’s delicious. Rasmus singles. And TBS shows highlights of Larry Sherry winning the 1959 World Series with the Dodgers. Coincidentally, a nice glass of larry sherry goes great with your Colbyrasmus sandwich. Rasmus is sacrificed to second by Wainwright. Former Dodger legend Julio Lugo strikes out. Ryan strikes out. Kershaw looks really good today.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH (Dodgers 1, Cardinals 1)

Furcal grounds to first. Note to Dodgers: Stop hitting the ball to Pujols. He catches everything. Kemp strikes out. Hey, George Lopez is at the game! You think maybe he has a show coming out on TBS soon? Andre Ethier homers. There goes the perfect game. Manny grounds to first. Didn’t he read the note from just two batters ago?

TOP OF THE FOURTH (Cardinals 1, Dodgers 0)

Ludwick, who Dick Stockton insists on calling Ludwig, grounds to first. Molina grounds to Kershaw. DeRosa pops to second. This game is just flying right along.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD (Cardinals 1, Dodgers 0)

Ryan Ludwick makes a sensational catch of Ronnie Belliard’s liner to right. Russell Martin grounds out. Clayton Kershaw flies to right. NO-HITTER THROUGH THREE! Somebody call Don Larsen.

TOP OF THE THIRD (Cardinals 1, Dodgers 0)

Adam Wainwright flied to right, but made Kershaw throw a lot of pitches, which could be important later. Former Dodger legend Lugo doubles to right. Ryan grounds to third. Pujols is intentionally walked, bringing up the guy who has already homered, Holliday grounds to third.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND (Cardinals 1, Dodgers 0)

Manny Ramirez grounds to short. James Loney, who always shows all the enthusiasm of a kid going to the doctor, grounds to first. Casey Blake lined hard to third. This is not time to try and to make your fellow third baseman look good.

TOP OF THE SECOND INNING (Cardinals 1, Dodgers 0)

Matt Holliday homers. If you are a Dodgers fan and have him on your postseason fantasy team, how do you react? Ryan Ludwick hits a slow roller to third that Casey Blake comes in on, but can’t come up with the ball. Adrian Beltre would have made that play. Of course, the Dodgers wouldn’t be in the playoffs if they still had Beltre instead of Blake. Yadier Molina hits a looper to left. First and second, no one out. Mark DeRosa strikes out. Colby Rasmus, which sounds like a cheese, grounds into a double play to end the inning.

BOTTOM OF FIRST INNING (Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0)

Just realized how nice it is to watch a game without Tim McCarver or Joe Morgan constantly yammering about something. Fox socuting report on Adam Wainwright: ‘Must be careful against lefties.’ Really? And against righties he can go ahead and groove them down the middle? Furcal pops to short. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier strike out.

TOP OF THE FIRST INNING (Cardinals 0, Dodgers 0)

Clayton Kershaw is warming up on the mound. He appears to be about 12 years old. Former Dodger legend Julio Lugo leads off for the Cardinals and grounds to short. Brendan Ryan strikes out on a nice curve by Kershaw. Does anyone else miss Mike Brito standing behind home plate with his radar gun, panama hat and cigar? Albert Pujols grounds to third.

-- Houston Mitchell

You can follow Diane Pucin’s running commentary on how TV is handling the telecast by clicking here. And you can follow the in-game box score here. And you can see a photo gallery from Game 2 here.