Carlos Beltran's walk-off single in the 13th inning lifted St Louis to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday in game one of the National League Championship Series.
Beltran did it all for the Cardinals, driving in all three of their runs and throwing out a runner at home plate in the 10th inning to keep the score knotted at 2-2.
His exploits let the Cardinals gain a quick upper hand over the Dodgers in the opening game of the best-of-seven series, from which the winners advance to Major League Baseball's World Series.
The Cardinals, who closed out Pittsburgh with a game-five victory on Wednesday, didn't have long to savour their latest triumph.
Game two of the series was set for Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, where the Cardinals will send rookie pitcher Michael Wacha to the mound and the Dodgers will give the ball to ace Clayton Kershaw.
It was past midnight in St Louis when Beltran brought the four-hour, 47-minute marathon to an end with a single off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen that scored Daniel Descalso from second base.
Pinch hitter Descalso had blooped a single to centre off losing pitcher Chris Withrow with one out in the 13th and Matt Carpenter then walked on four pitches.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly sent Jansen to the mound, and Jansen promptly fell behind Beltran 3-1. Beltran's single to right field then left Los Angeles with no play to the plate as Descalso raced home.
"Right down the middle," Beltran said of the pitch. "I don't blame him, because he was trying to make a pitch. He's behind the count and he's trying to make a pitch.
"But in that case, I was trying to hit the ball hard. I wasn't really looking for anything more than a hit."
Lance Lynn, the seventh Cardinals pitcher used in the contest, was credited with the win after tossing two scoreless innings.
