Carpenter gets ball for Cards in Game 3

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS

On the day he pitches, Chris Carpenter can be an ornery cuss. He prowls the mound, barks at hitters, and on at least one occasion has been known to invite a basepath collision.

Though just an 11-game winner for the St. Louis Cardinals, the 36-year-old right-hander has been in dominating mode since midseason. Apparently in the Milwaukee Brewers’ heads, too, heading into a matchup of aces in Game 3 of the NL championship series tonight against 17-game winner Yovani Gallardo.

“Yo has been our best guy, he loves being in these situations,” Brewers leadoff man Corey Hart said. “It’s our guy against their guy. Both are best guys.”

Carpenter mixed it up with Nyjer Morgan in September and was labeled a “phony” by Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke prior to the series.

Nothing phony about the results.

Carpenter shut down Milwaukee twice in September, allowing only two runs in 17 innings to fuel an improbable drive for the NL wild-card berth. He’s coming off a career signature moment, a three-hit shutout against Roy Halladay that eliminated the favored Phillies in the NL division series.