Bernie Miklasz, writing for 101ESPN, called the Cardinals versus the Cubs game last night operatic.

Just when you thought that the Cubs owned all of the momentum and positive emotion and cranked-up energy, just when you thought the Cubs would win the night on a stunning comeback, Carpenter reset the stars, and put the baseball planets back in alignment.

I don’t know if this was Thursday night baseball or a Night at the Opera.

Acting … drama … plot twists … overwrought scripts.

Bernie is having fun here, but then he gets into the real story of the night.

Now, if you really want to talk about a comeback by a down-and-out guy who won a freaking game and saved his team from a horrendous, spine-weakening loss … well, say hello to Matt Carpenter, and you don’t even have to god him up, because most of the Cardinals fan base is endlessly annoyed with him anyway.

Carpenter didn’t have a sprained ankle; he was suffering from a broken season, and a Grade 3 strain of his baseball career.

It’s been a rough summer. But with one swing of the bat — hell, I refuse to write something stupid like, ‘Swing of the magic wand,’ — Carpenter turned smoke into a game-winning strike and instant happiness. It wasn’t fireworks. It was more like fire Joe Maddon being in the works.

That last sentence. Whoa. Bernie’s on fire.