It took two batters before the Cardinals had established a lead over Roy Halladay and the Phillies. The lead was just 1-0, which probably isn't going to be enough, but it might be enough. After two innings, it's closer to being enough than it was.

Chris Carpenter protected that lead in the bottom of the first, working through the Phillies 1-2-3. In the second, Halladay settled down and spun a 1-2-3 frame of his own, but then Carpenter came out and kept the Phillies scoreless once more. He wasn't perfect, as Shane Victorino nicked him for a one-out double, but Victorino died on the bases, as neither Raul Ibanez nor Placido Polanco could bring him home. Neither came real close.

We're going to the third, and it's still 1-0 St. Louis. One remembers that Halladay cruised in Game 1 after allowing an early homer, and the Cardinals are surely aware that he could start cruising again. He might already be cruising, given his second inning. So there's still a lot of pressure on Carpenter. But he's done what he needed to do for the first two innings.