Takashi Saito withstood the pressure cooker in a crucial situation Sunday, helping the Milwaukee Brewers in their 9-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers had Prince Fielder and Yuniesky Betancourt to thank when the NL central champions rallied from a 5-2 deficit in a six-run fifth inning, featuring Fielder's go-ahead two-run blast and capped by another two-run shot by Betancourt.
Saito got the call with an 8-5 lead, inheriting a runner at first in the seventh.
The right-hander allowed a hit to Jon Jay, placing runners at the corners, but got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play before getting Lance Berkman to pop out to third to end the threat.
The runner on third scored on the double play but it was an easy exchange, considering Pujols represented the tying run. Saito was charged with no runs and threw 13 pitches in the inning.
"There was enormous pressure for me in that situation. They have a good lineup of batters, so I need to be able to mix in balls and strikes. Getting Pujols on that double play was unbelievable. I couldn't have scripted it better in the way he got hung up on that pitch. I couldn't believe it," Saito said.
Game 2 of the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers was postponed until Monday due to heavy rain at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
Texas beat Detroit 3-2 in Game 1 on Saturday, but Rangers relievers Koji Uehara and Yoshinori Tateyama did not get opportunities to play.