ST. Kansas City Royals Pro Shop . LOUIS -- Matched against ace Clayton Kershaw, the only thing Michael Wacha lacked was a no-hit watch. "Hes becoming a guy a lot of teams wish they drafted," teammate David Freese said. "What hes done is remarkable, especially on this stage." Wacha stared down a bases-loaded test in the sixth inning and pitched into the seventh, and the kids in the bullpen also were impervious to October pressure, keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers bats silent for the second straight day and winning 1-0 Saturday for a 2-0 lead in the NL championship series. "Im kind of at a loss for words to describe him," said fellow rookie Kevin Siegrist, who got a big out to end the seventh. "Its kind of ridiculous how well hes done so far." The Cardinals managed only two hits off Kershaw and the Dodgers, but Jon Jays sacrifice fly set up by Freeses double and A.J. Ellis passed ball in the fifth stood up. The Dodgers scoreless streak in the NLCS reached 19 innings after they averaged 6 1/2 runs in a four-game division series against Atlanta. Rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the ninth with a heater reaching 101 mph, fanning pinch-hitter Andre Ethier on three pitches to end it. A day after outlasting Los Angeles 3-2 in 13 innings, the Cardinals moved two wins away from the World Series. Game 3 is Monday at Dodger Stadium, with Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright facing rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers have already used their top two starters and have nothing to show for it. "We dont get too far ahead of ourselves," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We dont deny also whats happened here the last two days. "Those were two very good wins, two very tough wins when you face starters like that." Hanley Ramirez and Ethier were out of the Dodgers lineup with injuries after starting in the opener. Los Angeles missed a handful of opportunities, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position for a two-day total of 1 for 16. Star rookie Yasiel Puig struck out in all four of his at-bats. "We had our chances," Kershaw said. "We had our chances, for sure. Youve got to give a lot of credit to Wacha." The teams may have been hindered by shadows creeping across Busch Stadium in a late-afternoon start, with lights providing no real help. Both also were no doubt fatigued, which might have shown on the crucial passed ball by Ellis that wound up resulting in an unearned run. Wacha was nearly untouchable for the third straight start, allowing five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in 6 2-3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander was one out away from a no-hitter in his last start of the regular season, losing it on an infield hit by Washingtons Ryan Zimmerman. Wacha ignored a crowd chanting his name in Game 4 of the division series at Pittsburgh, holding the Pirates hitless for 7 1-3 innings to bring the series back home. In 22 2-3 innings in his last three starts, Wacha has given up two runs on seven hits with 26 strikeouts and five walks. The 6-6 Wacha struck out Puig and Juan Uribe with the bases loaded to end the sixth. Catcher Yadier Molina helped by making a couple trips to the mound. "That was a game-changer right there," Molina said. "To get out of that inning was unbelievable." Kershaw led off with a single, and runners were on second and third after second baseman Matt Carpenter slid in shallow right to glove Carl Crawfords infield hit but threw it away for an error trying to get a forceout at second. Adrian Gonzalez was walked intentionally to load the bases and the Dodgers 4-5 hitters coming up. Puig struck out on a fastball in the dirt and Uribe had a feeble cut chasing a 1-2 pitch out of the zone. Carpenter tripled on Kershaws first pitch of the game but didnt budge when the lefty retired the next three on nine pitches. The Cardinals had another runner at third with nobody out in the fifth after Freese doubled and advanced on a passed ball by Ellis, This time they converted on Jays sacrifice fly to shallow left as Crawfords throw was well offline. The previous pitch the Cardinals tried to squeeze in a run with the Dodgers infield playing in, but Jay fouled off a 1-1 pitch. Kershaw worked six snappy innings, needing just 72 pitches. He gave up two hits and struck out five. The majors ERA leader had plenty left, too, but the Dodgers needed runs and manager Don Mattingly opted for pinch-hitter Michael Young after Nick Puntos two-out single in the seventh. "I always want to stay in the game, but I understand where Donnies coming from," Kershaw said. "I get it. We cant give up any more outs and Michael Young is one of the best players the last 10 years." The Cardinals lifted Wacha for another stingy rookie. Siegrist, who had a minuscule 0.45 ERA in his debut season, threw a pair of wild pitches before getting Young on a flyout to end the seventh. Relievers Randy Choate and Carlos Martinez pitched the eighth for St. Louis before turning it over to Rosenthal. The Cardinals handed Kershaw two of his nine losses this season and have beaten him four consecutive times overall. NOTES: SS Ramirez was a late scratch with sore ribs after getting plunked in the first inning of Game 1. Ethier has been slowed by a sore ankle. ... Carpenter has a hit each of the first two games after entering the NLCS in a 3 for 39 slump. ... Choate, the lone veteran reliever the Cardinals used in Game 2, has gotten two outs on four pitches in two appearances. Cheap Royals Jerseys . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Royals Jerseys China . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Crew hired former U.S. mens national team and Major League Soccer player Gregg Berhalter as their seventh head coach. The Englewood, N.J., native replaces interim coach Brian Bliss, who took over during the recently completed Crew season for the fired Robert Warzycha, who had led the team the past five years. "The Crew has a strong history of winning and a dedicated fan base, and I aim to bring a style of play that resonates with our supporters and results that will make the city proud," Berhalter said in a statement Wednesday. "I am eager to get started, and my immediate priority is to reach out to the players and share our new vision for the club as we move forward." Berhalter became the first American to manage a European professional club when he was hired by Swedens Hammarby IF. His Hammarby teams went 18-11-16 in two seasons. He was fired last summer, largely because the team had difficulty mustering goals -- a problem he will also face with the defensive-oriented Crew. He had an 18-year run as a player, including stays in the Netherlands, England and Germany and MLS. Berhalter will also oversee all player personnel decisions with the team, with Crew President Mark McCullers relinquishing his duties as general manager to focus primarily on the clubs business operations. "Greggs strong vision, passion, work ethic, inttelligence, data-driven decision-making, broad soccer network and playing credentials separated him throughout this search," said Anthony Precourt, the Crews chairman. Kansas City Royals Shirts. "His unique skill-set gives us great confidence in boldly changing the structure of our soccer operations, with Gregg leading as our first-ever Sporting Director." In his final season with the L.A. Galaxy in 2011, Berhalter worked under coach Bruce Arena to prepare training sessions, video analysis and scouting as the club won the MLS Cup championship. He also was on the coaching side at 1860 Munich, where he helped with scouting for the German Club from 2007-09. After playing for the University of North Carolina, Berhalter spent time with Dutch Second Division team FC Zwolle and Holland First Division clubs Sparta Rotterdam and SC Cambuur before moving on to Englands Crystal Palace FC in the Football League Championship. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup with the United States before signing with Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga, where he served as captain while playing from 2002-06. He switched to 1860 Munich from 2006-09 before joining the Galaxy in 2009-11, serving as vice-captain. He earned 44 caps with the U.S. mens national team. Bliss leaves the Crew after six seasons as technical director. The club went 4-4-0 with him as interim coach. ' ' '