Headhunter Vincente Padilla picked up his forst postseason win with seven scoreless innings for the NL West champions. Padilla was added to the Torre's roster on Aug. 20, a few weeks after he was released from Texas.
Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier each collected three hits and drove in a pair of runs. The Dodger offense, aided by the tutelage of batting coach Don Mattingly, outscored the Cardinals 13-6 over the course of the series.
Los Angeles now awaits the winner of the Colorado-Philadelphia series. The Rockies and Phillies have each taken a game in the best-of-five series. Game Three was postponed Saturday due to inclement weather in Denver; it has been rescheduled for Sunday night at 10:07 PM ET.
Torre and Mattingly are in their second season with the Dodgers organization. Torre had managed the Yankees to 12 postseason appearances and four World Series titles before joining Los Angeles before the 2008 season. He brought Mattingly with him after the former Yankees captain lost his bid to replace Torre and Joe Girardi was hired as New York's manager.
The Dodgers swept Chicago in the 2008 NLDS for their first postseason series victory in 20 years. They have won back-to-back NL West titles in Torre's first two years as Dodgers manager.
The New York Yankees currently hold a 2-0 series lead over AL Central champion Minnesota. Game Three is scheduled for 7:07 PM ET Sunday. A Yankees-Dodgers World Series would likely produce gigantic ratings for Rupert Murdoch's FOX Network.
Not only would it be a meeting of the top two markets in the country, but the underlying story of Torre facing the franchise that hesitated then failed to bring him back for a 13th season would rule headlines in the sports world. It would also likely provide another encounter between Padilla and Teixeira.
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