NL Playoffs: David Freese Powers Cardinals Past Phillies; Ryan Roberts (Tat Man) Slams for Diamondbacks; Game Fives Friday; Tigers at Yankees Thursday Night

Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 5, 2011

American League

There were no AL games on Wednesday. The Texas Rangers eliminated the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday and await the winner of Thursday's game five of the Yankees - Detroit series. Game time is 8:07 pm EDT at Yankee Stadium in New York.

National League

Cardinals 5 Phillies 3

David Freese

St. Louis forced a decisive game five with the Phillies, as third baseman David Freese drove in four of the Cardinals' five runs with a 4th inning, two-run double and a monster two-run smash far over the center field wall in the 6th.

Freese hit 10 homers in 97 games with the Cardinals during the regular season. His 6th-inning shot was his first post-season homer. The Cards generated only six hits, all of them off Philly starter Roy Oswalt, who worked six full innings. Edwin Jackson, the St. Louis starter, surrendered two first inning runs, but then settled down and blanked the Phillies over the next five frames.

The series tied at two games apiece, a monumental pitching math-up looms for Friday's series finale, matching former Toronto teammates Roy Halladay for the Phillies against Cardinal ace, Chris Carpenter. Game time in Philadephia is set for 8:37 pm EDT.

Diamondbacks 10 Brewers 6

Arizona bludgeoned their way to a game four victory, setting up a game five showdown in Milwaukee on Friday. The Diamondbacks turned back a 1-0 Brewer lead in the first inning with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, four of the runs scoring on Ryan (Tat Man) Roberts grand slam off Milwaukee starter Randy Wolf, who was slammed for seven hits and eight earned runs over three innings of work.

Ryan Roberts (Tat Man)

Roberts, his arms festooned with colorful tattoos - thus, the "Tat Man" nickname - drove a two-out Wolf offering down the left field line and into the bullpen after Paul Goldschmidt, who socked a grand slam of his own in game three - struck out looking with the bases loaded.

The smash was Roberts' only hit of the game, but it propelled the Brewers to victory and a chance to win a game in Milwaukee, where they lost the first two games of the series.

Starters for the Friday game five are the same pair who started game one: Yovani Gallardo for Milwaukee and 21-game winner, Ian Kennedy for the Diamondbacks. Scheduled game time is 5:07 pm EDT.