The two pitches from two different Cardinals pitches that shaped Friday’s game and bent the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers into a shutout also happen to be two of the best, most sinister breaking balls in the majors.

So, the question thrown late that night toward pitching coach Dusty Blake, was between Sonny Gray’s sweeper and Phil Maton’s curveball, which is better?

Blake laughed.

“That’s like asking me which one of my kids I like the most,” the coach said. “They’re both exceptional. They’re both exceptional in their own way.”

In every way, the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory against the defending World Series champions at Busch Stadium hinged on Gray’s ability to navigate one of the most difficult lineups of the past decade and Maton’s ability to unplug it fast. Gray did it with his sweeper

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