Well, this could be it. The Rangers are up 3-2, and they just need to win one more game to capture their first title since the franchise moved from Washington to Texas in 1972. On the other hand, if the Cardinals can win tonight, they would force a Game 7 in St. Louis.
Here are the line-ups for tonight's game:
TEXAS RANGERS:
1. Ian Kinsler, 2b (.255, 32 HR, 77 RBI)
2. Elvis Andrus, ss (.279, 5 HR, 60 RBI)
3. Josh Hamilton, lf (.298, 25 HR, 94 RBI)
4. Michael Young, 1b (.338, 11 HR, 106 RBI)
5. Adrian Beltre, 3b (.296, 32 HR, 105 RBI)
6. Nelson Cruz, rf (.263, 29 HR, 87 RBI)
7. Mike Napoli, c (.320, 30 HR, 75 RBI)
8. Craig Gentry, cf (.271, 1 HR, 13 RBI)
9. Colby Lewis, p (14-10, 4.40 ERA)
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
1. Rafael Furcal, ss (.255, 7 HR, 16 RBI)
2. Skip Schumaker, cf (.283, 2 HR, 38 RBI)
3. Albert Pujols, 1b (.299, 37 HR, 99 RBI)
4. Lance Berkman, rf (.301, 31 HR, 94 RBI)
5. Matt Holliday, lf (.296, 22 HR, 75 RBI)
6. David Freese, 3b (.297, 10 HR, 55 RBI)
7. Yadier Molina, c (.305, 14 HR, 65 RBI)
8. Nick Punto, 2b (.278, 1 HR, 20 RBI)
9. Jaime Garcia, p (13-7, 3.56 ERA)
We'll see what happens.
The Cardinals' home uniforms may be the best uniforms in all of professional sports.
ReplyDeleteTexas's uniforms are OK, but somewhat generic.
A final shout-out here to ESPN's radio crew of Dan Schulman, Orel Hershiser, and Bobby Valentine -- they've been great.
ReplyDeleteIt's 50 degrees and clear in St. Louis.
ReplyDeleteThings started very brightly for the Rangers, with a walk to Kinsler, a single by Andrus, and another single by Hamilton. At this point Texas had men on 1st and 3d with nobody out and the heart of their order coming up. But Michael Young and Adrian Beltre struck out, and Nelson Cruz grounded into a force out. So Texas leads 1-0.
ReplyDeleteWhen Texas had men on 1st and 3d with 1 out, they had a 71 percent chance of victory, according to FanGraphs. Now they only have a 56 percent chance. So those were some pretty important outs.
ReplyDeleteLaRussa's managerial skills are looking pretty good tonight. He has Skip Schumaker (who spent most of the year on the bench) batting second, and Schumaker slapped a single to left. And LaRussa moved the hapless Matt Holliday down to 5th in the batting order, replacing him at cleanup with Lance Berkman. Berkman lanched a two-out homer to left center to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Suddenly the Cardinals have scored as many runs in this inning as they scored in the last 18 innings.
ReplyDeleteHolliday walked, but David Freese chased an outside pitch for strike 3, and the inning is over. After one, St. Louis leads 2-1.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals now have a 61 percent chance of victory.
ReplyDeleteThis is not going to be Jaime Garcia's night. The Cardinal pitcher just doesn't have it. In the top of the 2d, Mike Napoli walks and Craig Gentry singles Napoli to second. The pitcher bunted into a double play that left Gentry at second, but then Ian Kinsler whacked a ground rule double to left center. Gentry scored to tie the game, and the Cardinals have action going on in their bullpen.
ReplyDeleteGarcia didn't fool Elvis Andrus either -- Andrus drilled a hard line drive to right. But it stayed up, and Berkman caught it for the third out.
ReplyDeleteAfter one and half innings, the score is: Texas 2, St. Louis 2.
The Cardinals go down 1-2-3. The game is still tied at 2 after 2 innings, but based on what we've seen so far, you have to like Texas's chances better than St. Louis's at this point.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 3d, Hamilton strikes out. Michael Young singles up the middle for the fifth Texas hit of the game, but Adrian Beltre hits into Texas's second double play in three innings. After two-and-a-half, the score is still tied at 2.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the third, the Cardinals -- who don't seem likely to score many more runs in 2012 -- again go down 1-2-3. The only interesting part comes when Albert Pujols -- who may be playing his last game as a Cardinal -- flies out to the warning track in left.
ReplyDeleteAfter three innings, Texas and St. Louis are tied at 2.
Jaime Garcia is done for the evening. He never looked right the whole time he was in there, and to start the top of the 4th, the Cardinals go with Fernando Salas (5-6, 2.28 ERA).
ReplyDeleteMatt Holliday continues to find ways to kill the Cardinals. After consistently leaving runners on base in Game 5, he completely botches a high fly ball to left field by Nelson Cruz, and Cruz ends up on second with a two-base error.
ReplyDeleteGiven the Cardinals' extreme difficulties at the plate, they certainly can't be making errors.
Holliday's error gives Mike Napoli another chance to be the hero, and the World Series MVP whacks a double down the right field line for his 10th RBI in the Series.
ReplyDeleteSt. Louis appears to be out of pitching, hitting, and fielding, and their chances of victory look very slim.
Good Lord, now it's getting embarrassing. With Napoli on first and one out, Lewis puts down a bunt. Salas tries to get Napoli at second and hurls the ball into center field. Napoli is safe and the Rangers have men on first and second with the top of the order coming up.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Napoli badly hurt his ankle going into second, and he may have to leave the game.
OK, it looks as though Napoli will stay in the game. Now here's Kinsler with men on first and second to see if he can blow this game open:
ReplyDeletePitch 1: foul
Pitch 2: strike
Pitch 3: called strike three
Here's Andrus. What can he do?
Pitch 1: called strike
Pitch 2: ball
Pitch 3: foul
Pitch 4: foul
Pitch 5: fly ball to left, which Holliday (remarkably enough) manages to catch
So the Rangers only get one run on a double and two errors. But the way St. Louis has been hitting, that could be all they need.
Well, here we go again. Berkman hits a grounder to first base, but Michael Young makes a bad throw to the pitcher covering first, and Berkman is safe. Error on Young. Holliday, properly recognizing that he can only hurt the team by swinging, draws his second walk of the game.
ReplyDeleteFreese comes to the plate with runners on 1st and 2d with nobody out.
Freese hits a perfect double play ball to Kinsler, who flips to Andrus to retire Holliday, but Holliday forces Andrus to leap into the air and his throw to first is wild. Freese is safe, while Berkman moves to third.
ReplyDeleteRunners at the corners. One out. Molina coming up.
Molina hits another potential double play ball to third, but Freese was running on the play so Beltre is forced to throw to first. Berkman scores. The Cardinals tie the game with an error, a walk, and two ground outs.
ReplyDeletePunto comes to the plate, but of course he had no chance of getting a hit because he was a Cardinal batting with a man in scoring position. The inning is over, and we are tied at 3 as we head to the fifth.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals have some of the best and most knowledgeable fans in baseball, and they will know that they don't deserve to win this game. David Freese commits the third St. Louis error of the night when he butchers a grounder from Josh Hamilton. Michael Young immediately smacks a double to left, and Hamilton comes home to give Texas a 4-3 lead.
ReplyDeleteSo far, the Cardinals have two hits and three errors. That type of baseball doesn't win very many games. This is a Natstown-worthy performance so far.
ReplyDeleteBeltre grounds out to third, and Cruz flies to center, advancing Young to third.
ReplyDeleteWith two outs, the Cardinals -- who simply cannot retire Napoli with runners on base -- walk the World Series MVP.
With runners on 1st and 2d and two out, the Rangers send up David Murphy to pinch-hit for their number-8 hitter, Craig Gentry.
There's a typo in the last entry. There are runners on 1st and 3d with two out.
ReplyDeleteMurphy walks to load the bases and bring up the pitcher's spot. But Texas decides to let Lewis bat for himself.
ReplyDeleteLewis strikes out and the inning is over. I have a feeling that Texas really should have done a lot better there. But again, it will be moot if the Cardinals can't get going on offense.
ReplyDeleteAfter four-and-a-half, it feels like Texas has a five- or six-run lead. But in fact, the Rangers lead by only 4-3. If I were rooting for Texas, which I obviously am not, I would be frustrated that my team hadn't already put this game away.
ReplyDeleteBottom of the 5th. Murphy is now playing left for Texas, with Hamilton in center.
ReplyDeleteJon Jay pinch hits for Salas, and grounds out to second.
I made another mistake above. Freese didn't make his error on a grounder; he dropped a pop-up. To be honest, I didn't see the play but when I read that the third baseman had made an error, it never occurred to me that he would have dropped a pop-up.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 5th, and the Rangers are only 12 outs from victory.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals have not gotten a hit since the first inning, and I'm going to predict right now that they will not score another run until next season.
In the top of the 6th, the Cardinals bring in Lance Lynn to pitch. Lynn will bat second, replacing Schumaker (who made the last out in the 5th inning). Jay will stay in the game, play center field, and bat 9th.
ReplyDeleteHamilton gets a two-out single for Texas in the top of the 6th, but he is stranded by Young. Texas still leads 4-3 going into the bottom of the 6th.
ReplyDeleteThis game gets stranger and stranger. Pujols, in his next-to-last at bat as a Cardinal, strikes out. Berkman hits a nibbler that rolls about 50 feet, and beats it out. Holliday comes up and hits a very weak grounder to Michael Young, who makes his second error of the night and simply drops the ball, allowing Holliday to reach first.
ReplyDeleteBut this puts a runner in scoring position for the Cardinals, which is not good for St. Louis.
There's a reason baseball isn't usually played in weather this cold; we've seen five errors so far tonight.
ReplyDeleteFreese walks and the Cardinals have the bases loaded with one out. Molina is coming to the plate.
ReplyDeleteThat's all for Colby Lewis, who gave up only three hits in 5 1/3 innings, but who was very badly served by his defense.
ReplyDeleteThe Rangers bring in Alexi Ogando to face Molina. A few years ago, a bunch of stat guys argued that managers shouldn't have "closers," "set-up guys," and the like. In this situation, for example, it might make sense to use your best relief pitcher now -- this is arguably the most important at bat of the whole season. But managers never act that way.
ReplyDeleteChalk one up for the stat guys. Ogando, who has struggled throughout the series, walks Molina and the game is tied.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand this move at all. There's no way that Ogando (who hasn't been good in the Series and who was coming into the game cold) was more likely to retire Molina than Lewis -- who had pitched great throughout the game.
So the Cardinals have the bases loaded with only one out and a great chance to take the lead. But, unfortunately for St. Louis, the man on third is Matt Holliday. Holliday, the official World Series Goat, drifts too far off the bag and is picked off by World Series MVP Mike Napoli. The Texas catcher rifles a throw to third that nails Holliday.
ReplyDeleteNapoli and Colby Lewis are the only people in this whole game who look like they know what they are doing.
Ogando, trying to make things even harder for himself, throws a wild pitch and puts runners on 2d and 3d.
ReplyDeleteOgando then walks Punto. That walk, of course, would have scored Holliday and given St. Louis the lead -- but Holliday got picked off.
ReplyDeleteRon Washington, not willing to let Ogando do any more damage, gets him out of the game.
ReplyDeleteNow the Rangers are going with starter Derek Holland, who mowed down the Cardinals for a 4-0 victory in Game 4.
Meanwhile, this game has one of the strangest line scores you will ever see:
ReplyDeleteTexas:
4 runs
8 hits
2 errors
St. Louis:
4 runs
3 hits
3 errors
So it comes down to Derek Holland (a starter being used as a relief pitcher) against Jon Jay (a center fielder batting ninth). Bases loaded. Two out.
ReplyDeleteJay is 0-15 in the World Series.
LaRussa does not pinch hit for Jay, and the left-hander has no chance against the left-handed Holland. He grounds out weakly to the pitcher, and the inning is over.
ReplyDeleteAfter 6, Texas and St. Louis are tied at 4.
As we head into the 7th, the Cardinals have finally taken Matt Holliday out of the game. He apparently jammed his finger trying to get back into the game when he was PICKED OFF in the bottom of the 6th. So he's out and Allen Craig is now batting fifth and playing left.
ReplyDeleteEvery time St. Louis has scored in this game, Texas has immediately responded with a run of their own.
ReplyDeleteThis time they score twice. Beltre hammers a home run to right center. And then Cruz blasts a shot into the fourth deck in left. Texas jumps out to a 6-4 lead.
I'm for St. Louis, but those two homers felt very justified. After so much bad baseball tonight, those two blows seem to symbolize the very significant gap in talent between Texas (a truly excellent team) and St. Louis (a plucky team that has benefited from very good fortune for most of the last six weeks).
ReplyDeleteCOME ON, CARDINALS!
ReplyDeleteTexas now has 10 hits to only 3 for St. Louis.
ReplyDeleteAnd I realize that Texas has made two errors tonight, but both of those errors were made by Michael Young, who is only in the field because he can't play DH. In other words, none of the Texas players who normally play in the field have made a mistake. Meanwhile, the Cardinals -- in their home park and with all the money on the line -- have made three errors.
Texas adds another run with a single, a wild pitch, and another single. Texas 7, St. Louis 4.
ReplyDeleteIn this game, St. Louis has made three errors, given away four walks, had a runner picked off third, and thrown a wild pitch. Remarkably, Matt Holliday was responsible for only two of those mistakes.
Eric, they could have used you a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteThe top of the 7th is finally over, and Texas leads 7-4. St. Louis has nine outs left.
ReplyDeleteDallas is about to complete a rare double by taking the NBA and MLB titles in the same year. The last time that happened was in 2002, when the Lakers and Angels pulled the double for L.A.
ReplyDeletePujols, making what will probably be his last at-bat for the Cardinals, grounds out to end the 7th. Six outs left. Texas leads 7-4.
ReplyDeleteextra innings, baby!
ReplyDeleteOK, so as Eric has informed you, there have been some developments since my last entry.
ReplyDeleteIn bottom of the 8th inning, Allen Craig his a home run to make it 7-5.
In the bottom of the 9th, the Rangers sent out their closer to end the game. Neftali Feliz is an odd closer, in that his pitches all seem to be either balls or right down the middle. But he's usually very effective. This time he was not. He struck out Theriot, gave up a double to Pujols, walked Berkman, and struck out Craig. That brought up David Freese, who made himself a legend in St. Louis by hammering a two-run triple to right to tie the game at seven.
Yadier Molina then came up with a chance to win the game, but he flew out to right.
So it's tied at 7. Extra innings.
wow ... the rangers are relentless.
ReplyDeleteBut it doesn't stay tied for long. The Cardinals send out their closer, Jason Motte, who is best known for blowing a 1-0 lead in Game 2.
ReplyDeleteMotte retires Kinsler on a pop up to Pujols. But then he gives up a single to Andrus and a World Series-winning home run to Josh Hamilton. Hamilton has been hurt, and has looked terrible for most of the Series. But he's 3 for 6 in this game, and that home run will be remembered in Dallas -- well, it won't be remembered long, to be honest, because after all, it is football season.
Texas leads 9-7.
All night, Texas has played this game in the spirit of an older brother playing with his younger brother. He doesn't ever let the younger brother actually take control of the game, but he doesn't crush his spirits either. Texas goes out to a small lead, and then when St. Louis ties them, Texas immediately goes out and scores some more. Once the Rangers were ahead 9-7, they quickly went out so as to give St. Louis a chance in the bottom of the 10th.
ReplyDeleteBut St. Louis doesn't have much of a chance. Their lineup is so scrambled that the three batters coming up in the 10th are Daniel Descalso (a utility infielder), Jon Jay (who has only 1 hit in the Series), and Motte (the pitcher).
ReplyDeleteTexas, meanwhile, has replaced the eccentric Feliz with Darren Oliver.
ReplyDeleteDescalso lines a single to right, and just like that the Cardinals -- who have started hitting again for some reason -- have the tying run at the plate in the form of Jon Jay.
ReplyDeletefour or five fouls preceded Descalso's 2-2 leadoff single.
ReplyDeleteJay, who only had 1 hit in the whole Series before that at-bat, gets his second in a row -- a bloop to left. Now the tying runs are at first and second.
ReplyDeleteBut the pitchers' spot is up, and LaRussa has no more pinch hitters.
John Jay was hitting .111 in the series before singling Descalso to second.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals send up a pitcher, Kyle Lohse, to bat for Motte.
ReplyDeleteLohse puts down an excellent bunt -- he almost beat it out -- and the runners are at second and third. One out.
ReplyDeleteNow here comes Ryan Theriot, who replaced Punto at 2d a few innings ago as part of a double switch.
i was hoping LaRussa would let Edwin Jackson hit ... he was drafted as an outfielder after helping his columbus, ga., high school to a state championship.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Oliver is gone, and the Rangers are bringing in Scott Feldman -- their seventh pitcher of the game -- to face Theriot and, potentially, Pujols.
ReplyDeleteit appears as though we're going to get at least one more Pujols at-bat.
ReplyDeleteWORLD SERIES!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, by the way, MLB is putting on a great show in the middle of the night when almost no one in the East can see it.
ReplyDeleteIf Bud Selig had been in charge, Bill Mazeroski's home run would have taken place at about 12:30 AM. And Carlton Fisk's homer would have taken place at around 1:30 AM.
Feldman against Theriot:
ReplyDeletePitch 1: called strike
Pitch 2: foul
Pitch 3: foul
Pitch 4: ball
Pitch 5: Theriot grounds to third. Two outs. Descalso scores. Jay moves to third.
I'm sorry. Jay stayed at second.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the Rangers walk Pujols to bring up Lance Berkman.
ReplyDeleteCan Berkman be more effective than the hapless Matt Holliday was in Game 5?
this is the right thing, of course. but boo.
ReplyDeleteTexas 9, St. Louis 8
ReplyDeleteBottom of the 10th
2 out
runners on 1st and 2d
Feldman v. Berkman:
Pitch 1: foul
Pitch 2: ball inside
Pitch 3: foul
Pitch 4: ball low
Pitch 5: Berkman singles to center and THE GAME IS TIED AGAIN!
Now, can St. Louis finally win the game without letting Texas have another at-bat?
WORLD SERIES!
ReplyDeleteTexas 9, St. Louis 9
ReplyDeleteBottom of the 10th
2 out
runners on 1st and 3d
Feldman v. Craig:
Pitch 1: ball
Pitch 2: Craig grounds out to 3d.
So we're tied at 9 going into the 11th. How many runs will Texas score this time?
this is great. i'm watching this game via the mlb.com animation in the holiday inn express room 538 bathroom while my wife and daughter sleep
ReplyDeleteOK, there have been a lot of chances since the game started. Here are the current lineups:
ReplyDeleteTEXAS RANGERS
Kinsler, 2b
Andrus, ss
Hamilton, cf
Moreland, 1b
Beltre, 3b
Cruz, rf
Napoli, c
Murphy, lf
Feldman, p
ST. LOUIS
Westbrook, p
Theriot, 2b
Pujols, 1b
Berkman, rf
Craig, lf
Freese, 3b
Molina, c
Descalso, ss
Jay, cf
the new cardinals pitcher, Jake Westbrook, was born in athens, ga., in 1977--the fall before Michael Stipe moved to town from collinsville, ill., to enroll at university of georgia.
ReplyDeleteSo the Cardinals, who have already used six pitchers in this game, are now going with Jake Westbrook, who I don't remember seeing before. Westbrook is St. Louis's worst starter -- he went 12-9 during the season with a 4.66 ERA. With the shorter rotations in the post-season, he has hardly been used at all -- he's only thrown one inning since the end of the regular season.
ReplyDeleteWestbook retires Cruz, but Napoli (of course) lines a single to right. This brings up Murphy, who flies out to center.
ReplyDeleteWith two outs and the pitcher's spot up, Texas sends in Esteban German to pinch hit for Feldman.
ReplyDeleteGerman grounds out to 2d and the Cardinals will have a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 11th.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 11th, the Cardinals will send up Freese, Molina, and Descalso.
ReplyDeleteCollinsville, per Wikipedia: "During World War I, a Collinsville mob lynched a German-American citizen, the only such murder in the country. On April 5, 1918, a mob of men numbering in the hundreds took Robert Prager from his home and paraded him through the streets barefoot and wrapped in an American flag, forcing him to sing patriotic songs. The Collinsville police interceded and took him into protective custody. A group formed outside of the city jail, however, and, threatening to burn it down, were permitted entry. Two men found Prager hiding in the basement. They took him outside and the mob marched him to the outskirts of town, where they lynched him. His final request was to be buried in the American flag. Eleven men stood trial for the murder, but all were acquitted."
ReplyDeleteNow Fox is showing highlights of legendary games -- which is appropriate, because this will clearly go down as one of the most famous baseball games ever.
ReplyDeleteso odd to read about this right now because in between checking mlb.com and heathpost.com, i've been reading David Michaelis's Charles Schulz biography. when Schulz's dad opened in st. paul, minn., barbershop in 1918, he called it the "Family Barber Shop" because he didn't want to start a biz with "Carl" or "Schulz" in the name.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals are the first team in history to score in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings of a World Series game.
ReplyDeleteGerman stays in to play left and bat 9th for Texas. The new Texas pitcher is Mark Lowe, who was 2-3 with a 3.8 ERA during the season, but who had hamstring problems toward the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteHURRAH!
ReplyDeleteThough born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Freese was raised in the Greater St. Louis area and he grew up a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. He graduated from Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Missouri in 2001. Freese recorded a .533 batting average during his senior season, which remains a Lafayette record. He was considered to be the best shortstop in the state.
ReplyDeletethe pitcher, Lowe, is from houston. so this really was a texas ranger vs. a st. louis cardinal.
ReplyDeleteLowe doesn't stay in the game for long, because Freese hit his sixth pitch OVER THE WALL IN DEAD CENTER FIELD FOR A GAME-WINNING HOME RUN!
ReplyDeleteTHE CARDINALS, AGAINST ALL ODDS, CAME BACK FROM 2 DOWN IN THE 9TH, AND 2 DOWN IN THE 10TH, TO WIN THE GAME IN THE 11TH.
And now we'll all come back tomorrow for the FIRST GAME 7 IN THE WORLD SERIES SINCE 2002!
WORLD SERIES!
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, that may be the greatest baseball game I have ever seen.
ReplyDeletei, of course, have a date with Dora tomorrow night, so i'll have to catch up on the game 7 action when i get in.
ReplyDeleteas far as i can tell, it's probably the greatest game i didn't see.
ReplyDeleteThat Schulz biography is great, by the way.
ReplyDeleteit pays to look well.
ReplyDeleteagain, you look at this game and what a mess LaRussa had pieced together ... only to have the right guys coming to the plate at the end.
ReplyDelete