Reggie Sanders blasted a tape-measure first-inning two-run home run and the St. Louis Cardinals never looked back in a 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros in Game One of the National League Championship Series.
The two RBI for Sanders brought his postseason total to 12 and he has a 10-game hitting streak including the final six games of the regular season.
“It’s hard to compare because this is under such a big magnifying glass, and so everything is heightened when you come through in key situations,” Sanders said.
“There are times when I’ve been hot, but it was kind of shoved under the table. So now, things are finally going in the right direction for me.”
The Cardinals will try to shove the Astros halfway to elimination when Mark Mulder takes on Roy Oswalt in Thursday night’s Game Two at Busch Stadium.
The NLCS then moves to Houston for three games (if a fifth game is needed) before returning to St. Louis on Wednesday.
On an evening when the Cardinals played superb defense, Sanders contributed a gem in the sixth inning when he reached over the fence to rob Mike Lamb of a home run.
“That was a ball that just kept carrying, and for me, I didn’t want the wall to play me; I wanted to play the wall,” Sanders said.
“So I just wanted to jump up and use the wall as a crutch, and that’s all I really could do on that particular play.”
