World Series: Texas 7 - 16 St. Louis (St. Louis leads 2-1)

The slugfest that everyone had been awaiting finally arrived last night, and it did not work out as well for the Rangers as they had anticipated. Texas has a powerhouse lineup that is quite good at beating weak pitchers into submission, while St. Louis basically has Albert Pujols and a bunch of other guys. So when the players went down to Texas's little bandbox, and the wind was blowing out to right, the Rangers had to feel good about their chance. And sure enough, Texas did score seven runs -- which should be enough to win a World Series game.

But it turns out that Albert Pujols is a host in and of himself. Pujols is probably going to leave St. Louis after this season, but he is going out with a bang. Last night, he had what may have been the greatest game ever by any batter in the World Series. He tied the record for homers in a World Series game with three -- only Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson have ever matched that record. He tied the record for hits in a World Series game with five. And he tied the record for runs batted in for a World Series game with six.

Texas also contributed to its own demise. The Rangers had three errors and handed out six walks. So the Cardinals were able to get their 16 runs on 15 hits, while Texas's 13 hits led to only 7 runs.

Texas is now in big trouble. St. Louis will be sending out Chris Carpenter to pitch Game 5, and he has been on fire throughout the post-season. If Carpenter could win Game 5, the Rangers would have to win every other remaining game -- including two games in St. Louis -- to win the Series. On the other hand, Texas can consider itself lucky -- if they hadn't pulled out Game 2 with two runs in the top of the 9th, this series would be just about over.