The baseball postseason was degenerating into sloppy slugfests in which relief pitchers were getting more outs than starting pitchers. What in the name of Bob Gibson had happened to the well-pitched game? Chris Carpenter, a pitcher unlike anybody else in his generation, finally restored order to what Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, through gritted teeth, had called one “wacky” October.

It wasn’t the sort of game that goes in a Cooperstown trophy case — six innings, two runs allowed in a 3-2 St. Louis win in World Series Game 1 — unless you measure it by the low standards of this postseason. It was only the 12th quality start win among 64 starts. And now Carpenter owns two of them, at last providing necessary ballast: the ace of a team taking the ball in Game 1 at home and taking care of business.

With the win, Carpenter replaced Gibson as the winningest pitcher in Cardinals postseason history. Yes, we have more rounds of the playoffs than back in Gibson’s day, but that’s an impressive imperator nonetheless. It is not without portfolio: Carpenter is now 8-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 13 postseason games, in which the Cardinals are 11-2.

“What sets him apart is focus,” teammate Adam Wainwright said. “From pitch to pitch, his focus puts him a cut above other pitchers with good stuff. You know, as a young player you pattern yourself after pitchers who you are around. And with Carp, it’s not because he has the best stuff that makes him someone you want to copy. It’s the work ethic. That’s what I saw early on.”

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Tom Verducci: Carpenter unseats Gibson in Cardinals history with vintage performance