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On a crisp October afternoon in Milwaukee, where the wind carried just enough bite to remind us that autumn baseball is not for the faint of heart, the St. Louis Cardinals answered back. A 5–0 victory over the Brewers at American Family Field, and with it, a best-of-three Wild Card Series now tied at a game apiece.
The story, quite simply, was Steve Coiley. Tall, deliberate, unhurried—he pitched with a kind of timeless economy, the sort of effort that would’ve been at home in 1922 or 2022. Seven innings, three hits, not a run allowed. The Milwaukee bats, so lively just a day ago, tonight rendered still, almost reverent.
At the plate, it wasn’t one man who carried St. Louis, but a chorus. Bang Wang doubled twice, scored once, and drove in another. J. Phelps, steady as ever in center, delivered three hits, an RBI, and a stolen base. Around them, timely contributions: Gutierres, Burrill, Arispe. Enough to build and then to cushion the lead.
For Milwaukee, frustration. A lineup that found no rhythm, no answer. Tidwell’s late triple only a fleeting gasp, smothered quickly. Their starter, Simonson, worked into the sixth but never quite wrestled command of the strike zone, each missed pitch a chance the Cardinals did not waste.
And so, the stage is set. A decisive Game 3, tomorrow, again here in Milwaukee. One team will see its October dreams flicker and fade, the other will march on. That is the beauty and the cruelty of October baseball.
Tonight, though, it belongs to Steve Coiley—his teammates smiling, his words measured: “I’ll let my guard down,” he said, “as soon as someone puts a big, fat championship ring on my finger.”
A pitcher’s resolve, a city’s hope, and another chapter written in baseball’s eternal autumn theater.
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