Phillies 11, Cardinals 6

Some parts of game one were great, such as the first five innings. The top of the ninth was a little entertaining.

Then there was the rest.

Kyle Lohse fell apart in the sixth. Marc Rzepczynski and Mitchell Boggs never really had it together. And, in the end, it was an 11-6 Cards loss to the Phillies.

Cardinals highlights

• Rafael Furcal leading off the game with a single. The Cards surpassed what the Reds did in last year’s NLDS game one right away!
• Lance Berkman’s first inning home run with Furcal and Albert on base. It gave the Cards a 3-0 lead that lasted until that pivotal sixth inning.
• Kyle Lohse’s first three innings.
• The ninth inning mini-rally that began with an Allen Craig walk, followed by an Albert single. Gerald Laird came in to pinch-run for Albert. (Yes, really.) Sparkplug Adron Chambers singled to score Craig, while Skip doubled to score two more runs. Great sign that they didn’t give up … although it was certainly easier once Roy Halladay left the game.

Cardinals lowlights

• Lohse’s sixth inning, where he allowed five runs on five hits — including a replayed-way-too-much three-run homer to Ryan Howard.
• Rzepczynski wasn’t able to retire anyone, as he pitched to three batters and gave up three straight singles — the first one being to Halladay.
• Mitchell Boggs didn’t do all that much better, allowing two of those runners Rzep put on to score. He also gave up another run in the seventh and one in the eighth.

And those are the big plays. Check back tomorrow morning for more on the game.