Terry Francona won’t be taking his talents to St. Louis.

The Cardinals plan to name former catcher Mike Matheny, who spent five years with the club from 2000-2004, as their new manager, the team announced on Sunday. Matheny will be formally introduced as the club’s skipper at a news conference at Busch Stadium on Monday at 11 a.m. CT.

The 41-year-old takes over at his new job without any prior managerial experience. He did enjoy a 13-year career as a catcher, though, during which he played for the Brewers, Blue Jays and Giants, in addition to the Cardinals.

Francona was among those to also interview for the position, but St. Louis ultimately went with Matheny, which SI.com’s Jon Heyman expects to be a popular decision within the organization. Heyman reports that the Cardinals players and pitching coach Dave Duncan “love” Matheny and that he’s viewed as the “ultimate leader.”

Now that St. Louis’ managerial position is filled, we could see an increase in speculation when it comes to Francona potentially joining Theo Epstein in Chicago.

Times wires

In Print: Friday, October 14, 2011

Ryan Braun hits a fifth-inning RBI single to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in their Game 4 victory that ties the series.
	[Getty Images]

ST. LOUIS — Randy Wolf outfoxed the Cardinals for seven innings to earn his first postseason win at age 35 and the Brewers got two more hits from Ryan Braun in a 4-2 victory Thursday that evened the NL Championship Series at two games each.

Matt Holliday and Allen Craig homered for the Cardinals, representing their only runs in the last 16 innings. But they were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and failed twice to get a man home from third with less than two outs.

Wolf baffled them with a changeup clocked around 65 mph and retired 13 of his last 15 hitters in his fourth career postseason start.

“We had a couple of chances to add a run and Wolf made outstanding pitches,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, whose team is 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position since the first inning Wednesday. “He just made really good pitches.”

Francisco Rodriguez allowed a hit in the eighth and John Axford finished for his second save of the series.

The Brewers, who trailed 2-0 after three innings, ended an eight-game road skid in the postseason dating to the 1982 World Series opener at St. Louis.

“It feels good to know that we’re at least going to get to go back home,” said Ryan Braun, who singled home the go-ahead run in the fifth and is hitting .471 (16-for-34) in the postseason with two homers.

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By moving third baseman David Freese into the cleanup spot for Thursday night’s Game 4 of the NLCS, St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa has highlighted one of the new realities for his team: Freese has become as indispensible a part of the Cardinals’ lineup as anyone not named Albert Pujols.

(SARAH CONARD – REUTERS)
It was a fairly significant lineup change La Russa made Thursday, benching veteran Lance Berkman against Milwaukee Brewers lefty Randy Wolf, and sliding Matt Holliday down to No. 5.

“He’s our best guy against a left-handed pitcher,” La Russa said, “which is what we’re facing — so he’s hitting fourth.”

Freese’s breakout this month has included a .367/.387/.800 batting line through the Cardinals’ first eight games of the postseason, including two homers, two doubles and six RBI in Games 1, 2 and 3 of the NLCS.

Freese, 28, is a late-bloomer who didn’t break into the majors until the age of 26, and still hasn’t played more than 97 games in a season, thanks to major injuries in both 2010 and 2011. One reason for his late arrival is the fact he walked away from baseball for a time after high school, as described in this excellent piece by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.The Cardinals acquired him in a December 2007 trade from San Diego for veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds (who, coincidentally, is throwing out Thursday night’s ceremonial first pitch).

When the Cardinals’ lineup is going well, with Berkman and Holliday (in whichever order) filling the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the lineup behind Pujols, and with Freese at No. 6, it gives the Cardinals an extremely deep, AL-style lineup.

Even now, with Berkman struggling and Holliday slowed by a wrist injury, having Freese available to slide seamlessly into the cleanup spot is a huge luxury for the Cardinals. And having Freese there may force the Brewers to think twice about pitching around Pujols.

“I can’t keep walking Albert,” Brewers Manager Ron Roenicke conceded Thursday. “They have too good hitters behind him.”

Area St. Louis Cardinals fans packed area bars and restaurants with plenty of red Sunday afternoon to cheer on their team in the first game of the National League Championship Series.

Donald Wozniak of Peoria watched the Cardinals’ 9-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers from the friendly confines of Johnny Vig’s Scotch and Cigar Lounge with his friend Zach Hedeman and other fans.

“It’s going to be a tough battle against the Brewers, but we have high hopes,” said Wozniak, who inherited his love for St. Louis’ ballclub from his father. “We ended the season on a roll and battled back against the Phillies, so we got some fight in us.”

Beating the team with the best regular season record in baseball in the first round of the playoffs was nice, said Hedeman, but it’s far from over.

“My grandfather grew up in Missouri, so being a Cards fan is a family heritage for me,” the Peorian said.

Peoria resident Jerry Velpel sported a bright red Cardinals pullover at Kouri’s Pub on Sunday to show his pride. He’s been a fan of the team since Stan Musial was setting records for them as a Hall of Fame outfielder in the ’40s and ’50s.

“It was exciting beating the Phillies, but the Brewers are a tough club,” said Velpel, who makes it to Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals play their home games, up to a dozen times a season with friends and family.

Velpel travels down to Fort Myers, Fla., to work for the Minnesota Twins during spring training each year, helping direct autograph seekers and keeping distractions for the ball players to a minimum. He’s a St. Louis Cardinals fan first and foremost, but he’ll go see any team play.

“I’m just an all-around fan of baseball,” he said.

Rob Kenny has been a fan of the Cardinals since he was 4 years old. He said he never once thought they’d make the playoffs this year, so just seeing his squad play Sunday was enjoyable.

“We have experience, so I like their chances, but this is the sixth extra game this season, so that’s a gift in itself for me,” said Kenny, who was born and resides in Peoria but has a loyalty to the baseball team from St. Louis that is unparalleled.

“If I was only allowed to cheer for one team in any sport, I’d cheer for St. Louis Cardinals baseball,” he said.

The Cardinals continue their series against the Brewers on Monday in Milwaukee.

Eric Engel can be reached at 686-3194 or eengel@pjstar.com.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ improbable run toward the National League Wildcard took another big step backward Friday night as the Chicago Cubs scored four runs in the final two innings to win 5-1 at Busch Stadium.

The Cards’ loss, coupled with Atlanta’s 7-4 win over Washington, pushed the Cardinals three games behind Atlanta in the wildcard race with five to play.  It also means Milwaukee, with its 4-1 win over Florida, has clinched its first National League Central Division crown and its first division championship since 1982 (when the Brewers played in the American League).

The Redbirds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd when starting pitcher Chris Carpenter laid down a bunt on a suicide squeeze play, scoring Skip Schumaker from third. It was the first time St. Louis squeezed home a runner at Busch Stadium since the final weekend of the 2010 season.

The Cubs tied the game 1-1 in the top of the 6th on Carlos Pena’s RBI double. It was the only run Carpenter gave up. The Cards’ starter also allowed five hits in seven innings, striking out five while allowing two walks.

In the 8th, Chicago’s Darwin Barney started the inning with a triple off reliever Kyle McClellan (12-7). After Bryan LaHair grounded out to Albert Pujols, Carlos Pena was walked intentionally, setting the stage for the shot that silenced the crowd of just over 40,000. Alfonso Soriano belted a three run homer over the left field wall, giving his team a 4-1 lead.

The Cubs added another run in the 9th off reliever Mitchell Boggs. Starlin Castro singled in Tony Campana, making the score 5-1.

Jeff Samardzija (8-4) pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Cubs’ starter Ryan Dempster to earn the win.

The Cardinals continue their final home series of 2011 Saturday afternoon, with first pitch at 12:10 against the Cubs. Kyle Lohse (14-8) will pitch for St. Louis against Chicago’s Rodrigo Lopez (6-6).

Game Notes:

The Cardinals grounded into three double plays Friday night, giving them 165 for the year. The next twin killing the Cards hit into will tie the National League record of 166, set by the 1958 Cardinals.

Friday’s announced attendance of 40,335 put the Cardinals over three million fans for the eighth consecutive season and the 15th time in club history.