Carlos Beltran Beats The Dodgers, Takes One Game Lead In NLCS

This is your signature play of the NLCS, if there can be a signature play one game in. It's got everything though, athleticism, grit and the human element. All combined for a fascinating play that resulted in just one crummy out.

There were a million angles and in most, if not all, it looked like Ellis was dead to rights, yet Molina never tagged him.

There was at least one view that appeared to show the glove hitting Ellis on the elbow/forearm area right as he collided with Molina, pushing the glove away and making it looks like there was never technically a tag.

But it doesn't really matter, Mark Ellis is never getting called safe on that play. Ellis himself said of the play: "It was pretty obvious I got tagged out...[t]here was a collision at home plate. They're going to call you out every time."

Nevertheless we have our moment. The high-priced and athletically-gifted superstar gunning down the scrappy captain of the dirty uniform gang to end the inning and preserve the tie. Carlos Beltran created that tie in the third and then ended it 10 innings later.

Beltran scored drove in all three of the Cardinals' runs last night, the last of which came on a 3-1 count with runners on first and second in the bottom of the 13th. It wasn't some bloopy, broken-bat flare, either. Beltran hit a rope down the line in right field. If it wasn't a walk-off win, it would definitely have been a double but, alas, it was scored a single. Which is a shame, because he really needs to work on that slugging percentage.