Oct. 10--ST. LOUIS -- John Lackey had made 21 postseason pitching appearances before he took the mound Friday night, but the 36-year-old Cardinals veteran called this one "special."
Lackey pitched 71/3 shutout innings in the Cardinals' 4-0 victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, prompting many of the 47,830 towel-waving fans in attendance to boo when manager Mike Matheny pulled him after 86 pitches. The crowd quickly changed it tone, giving Lackey a standing ovation as he walked off the mound.
Afterward, he said the playoffs are "pretty much the only reason I'm still going."
"I felt pretty good tonight," said Lackey, who last pitched in a playoff game at Busch Stadium when he was a member of the Red Sox in the 2013 World Series. "Honestly, the atmosphere was outstanding tonight. The crowd was really into it. I knew I was going to have to pitch well because (Jon) Lester threw the ball outstanding."
Lackey, the active leader in postseason starts (19) and innings pitched (1241/3), said he didn't think the experience necessarily gave him an edge on the field, but it was helpful off it.
"As far as the pregame stuff and the stuff around the game, I knew what to expect there," Lackey said. "And those kind of distractions probably don't affect me like somebody that's new this time of year."
Lackey didn't allow a baserunner until he walked Kyle Schwarber with one out in the fourth and had a no-hitter through five innings.
Addison Russell singled up the middle to lead off the sixth for one of just two hits against Lackey, who walked one and struck out five. Russell reached third after a stolen base and a groundout, but Dexter Fowler flied out deep to right field to end the Cubs' threat.
Lackey escaped more trouble in the seventh after allowing a leadoff single to Schwarber, striking out Kris Bryant and prompting Anthony Rizzo to hit into a double play at first.
Afterward, Matheny said Lackey has been exactly what the club needed this season after ace Adam Wainwright went down with a torn Achilles.
"When you get him into a big situation, he's not going to scare," Matheny said. "He's going to come out with better stuff when you turn up the heat, and that says a lot. You mix that with the kind of stuff he has right now, and he's a top-tier pitcher."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon got to know Lackey when both were with the Angels, with whom Lackey began his major-league career in 2002. Maddon anticipated such an outing Friday.
"He was always kind of fearless," Maddon said. "He comes from Texas, kind of does the John Wayne strut out there. He's that guy, but we had the same guy in return with Jon Lester. I knew going into it that it was going to be that kind of a game."
ckane@tribpub.com
