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Recap Cardinals 6 Rangers 2

Dave Johnson — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:09:02 +0000

Allen Craig hit the go-ahead homer and Chris Carpenter pitched six solid innings on three days’ rest as the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series with a 6-2 Game 7 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Friday.

Game 6 hero David Freese added a two-run double to give him a record 21 RBIs in the postseason as the Cardinals won their 11th World Series title by winning the final two games to overcome a 3-2 deficit.

Freese was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series and became only the sixth player to win MVP honors in the League Championship Series and World Series in the same year.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa won his third World Series crown overall and second in the past six years with St. Louis.

Texas became the 12th team to lose in the World Series in back-to-back years. The Rangers fell in five games to San Francisco in 2010.

Carpenter (2-0) allowed run-scoring doubles to Josh Hamilton and Michael Young in the first inning before blanking the Rangers over the next five innings. He gave up six hits and two walks and struck out five before leaving after allowing David Murphy’s leadoff double in the seventh.

Four St. Louis relievers held Texas without a hit over the final three innings, with Jason Motte retiring David Murphy on a fly ball to left for the final out.

Craig started in left field in place of an injured Matt Holliday and hit a one-out homer to right off Matt Harrison (0-2) in the third inning to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. Harrison allowed three runs and five hits in four innings.

The Cardinals added two runs without a hit in the fifth inning when Yadier Molina was walked with the bases loaded by Scott Feldman, and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch from C.J. Wilson. Molina added a run-scoring single in the seventh.

Freese hit his two-run double in the opening inning one night after helping the Cardinals reach Game 7 with a game-tying double with two outs in the ninth and a walk-off homer two innings later.

Preview Rangers at Cardinals

Dave Johnson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:55:01 +0000

THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals staged one of the top World Series comebacks of all-time in Game 6 to set up a winner-take-all finale against the Texas Rangers on Friday. Texas was one strike away from winning in both the ninth and 10th innings but the Cardinals rallied both times and won 10-9 on David Freese’s dramatic 11th-inning homer. The St. Louis comebacks – and Texas collapses – prompt the first World Series Game 7 since the Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants in 2002.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Fox.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Matt Harrison (0-1, 7.36 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Chris Carpenter (1-0, 2.77 ERA)

Harrison lasted just 3 2/3 innings in Game 3, won 16-7 by the Cardinals. Harrison gave up five runs (three earned) and six hits. He hasn’t gone longer than five innings in any of his three postseason starts.

Carpenter allowed two runs in each of his World Series starts, pitching six innings to win Game 1 and hurling seven innings while taking a no-decision in Game 5. All the runs off him have come on homers – Mike Napoli’s two-run shot in the opener and solo shots by Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland in Game 5.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Freese etched his name into St. Louis lore in Game 6 by smacking a game-tying two-run triple with two out in the ninth in addition to his game-winning homer. Lance Berkman delivered the game-tying single in the 10th as part of 3-for-5 game in which he homered, scored four times and had three RBIs. Albert Pujols had a double in Game 6 for his first hit since going 5-for-6 with three homers in Game 3. Matt Holliday left Thursday’s game with a bruised right pinkie but expects to play Friday. Allen Craig also homered in Game 6.

ABOUT THE RANGERS: Napoli reached base five times in Game 6 and had his 10th RBI of the season but also sprained his left ankle. Postgame X-rays were negative. Nelson Cruz (strained groin) also is ailing and left the game a few innings after belting his record-tying eighth homer of the postseason. Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer in the 10th for his first blast of the postseason and had three hits and three RBIs. Beltre also homered. Neftali Feliz (ninth) and Scott Feldman (10th) were the relievers who blew late leads and Mark Lowe served up Freese’s game-winning shot.

FINAL PITCH: The home team has won the last eight times the World Series has featured a Game 7. The last road team to win a Game 7 was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Recap Cardinals 10 Rangers 9 11

Dave Johnson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:09:02 +0000

David Freese homered to deep center field in the bottom of the 11th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals forced a seventh and deciding game in the World Series with a dramatic 10-9 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.

Freese’s game-winning blast off Mark Lowe (0-1) capped a frantic back-and-forth game and tied the series 3-3. Game 7 will be Friday night in St. Louis.

Texas was one strike away from the winning the title in both the ninth and 10th innings but was unable to close the deal.

In the ninth inning, Freese hit a two-out, two-run triple off the right-field wall against closer Neftali Feliz to force extra innings.

Josh Hamilton smashed a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning – his first homer of the postseason – to give Texas a 9-7 lead. But St. Louis struck twice in the bottom of the inning, scoring the first run on Ryan Theriot’s infield out before tying the score on Lance Berkman’s two-out single off Scott Feldman.

Jake Westbrook (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th for the Cardinals.

Texas took a 7-4 lead in the seventh when Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back homers and Ian Kinsler delivered a run-scoring single. Cruz’s blast allowed him to join San Francisco’s Barry Bonds (2002) and Houston’s Carlos Beltran (2004) as the only players to hit eight homers in a single postseason.

Allen Craig, who replaced an injured Matt Holliday, homered in the eighth to get the Cardinals back within two runs.

Berkman hit a two-run homer in the opening inning for the Cardinals. The Rangers then took a 3-2 in the fourth when Mike Napoli notched his 10th RBI of the series with a single just inside the right-field line.

Preview Rangers at Cardinals

Dave Johnson — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:55:02 +0000

THE STORY: After their first shot at the championship was postponed Wednesday due to threatening weather, the
Texas Rangers go after their first World Series title
Thursday in Game 6 against the host St. Louis Cardinals. Texas recorded a 4-2
victory on Monday with postseason hero Mike Napoli smacking the go-ahead two-run
double to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Napoli has nine RBIs in 13 at-bats in
the series and is only the second player in World Series history with four
multi-RBI games. The other is Mickey Mantle for the 1960 New York Yankees. Game
7, if necessary, is scheduled for Thursday in St. Louis.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Fox.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers
RH Colby Lewis (0-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lewis is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three postseason starts. He
gave up just one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings while taking a no-decision
in Game 2. Nick Punto had two of the hits.

Garcia pitched seven shutout innings of three-hit ball in
Game 2 but didn’t get the win due to Jason Motte’s ninth-inning implosion. He
struck out seven and walked one. Garcia is 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA in four
postseason starts.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: St.
Louis left 12 runners on base in Game 5. Matt Holliday reached base three times
on a single and two walks but left five runners on base the two times he was
retired. Albert Pujols was walked intentionally three times and went 0-for-2. Yadier
Molina had three hits and drove in his fifth run of the series. Allen Craig was
caught stealing twice to become the first player thrown out multiple times in a
World Series game since the Yankees’ Billy Martin in 1955.

ABOUT THE RANGERS: Napoli
has driven in nearly half of Texas’ 19 runs in the series. Mitch Moreland and
Adrian Beltre hit solo homers for the Rangers’ other runs. Beltre is batting
.381 in the series while Moreland is batting just .111 in 27 postseason at-bats.
Michael Young is hitting .211 in the series with three of his four hits going
for extra bases. Josh Hamilton is just 3-for-19 in the series and homerless in
60 postseason at-bats. Neftali Feliz has two saves in the World Series and six
in the postseason.

FINAL PITCH: St.
Louis scored 16 runs in Game 3 of the World Series but has only tallied six in the other four games.

Recap Rangers at Cardinals ppd rain

Dave Johnson — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:09:02 +0000

Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that Game 6 of the World Series pitting the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals has been postponed because of rain.

With clearer skies expected for the next two days, baseball officials elected to avoid a likely rain delay and shift Game 6 to Thursday and a potential Game 7 to Friday.

The Rangers lead the best-of-seve series 3-2.

Rain began falling at noon on Wednesday with forecasts calling for precipitation to continue all day.

Starters Jaime Garcia and Colby Lewis are still expected to start Game 6, but St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter could possibly start Game 7 should the Cardinals force a deciding contest.

Texas manager Ron Washington has said that Matt Harrison – who was hit hard in a Game 3 loss – would start Game 7 regardless of the schedule.

Preview Rangers at Cardinals

Dave Johnson — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:55:01 +0000

THE STORY: The
Texas Rangers go after their first World Series title
Wednesday in Game 6 against the host St. Louis Cardinals. Texas recorded a 4-2
victory on Monday with postseason hero Mike Napoli smacking the go-ahead two-run
double to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Napoli has nine RBIs in 13 at-bats in
the series and is only the second player in World Series history with four
multi-RBI games. The other is Mickey Mantle for the 1960 New York Yankees. Game
7, if necessary, is scheduled for Thursday in St. Louis.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Fox.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers
RH Colby Lewis (0-0, 1.35 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lewis is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three postseason starts. He
gave up just one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings while taking a no-decision
in Game 2. Nick Punto had two of the hits.

FINAL PITCH: St.
Louis scored 16 runs in Game 3 of the World Series but has only tallied six in the other four games.

Recap Rangers 4 Cardinals 2

Dave Johnson — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:09:04 +0000

Mike Napoli smashed a tiebreaking two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Texas Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday for a 3-2 lead in the World Series.

Napoli’s shot into the right-center field gap drove in Michael Young and Nelson Cruz as Texas battled back from an early two-run deficit.

Neftali Feliz hit Allen Craig with a pitch to start the ninth but struck out Albert Pujols while Craig was thrown out stealing by Napoli. Feliz issued a two-out walk to Matt Holliday before striking out Lance Berkman for his second save of the series.

The Rangers can win the best-of-seven series in Wednesday’s Game 6 in St. Louis.

Young started the eighth with a double off Octavio Dotel (0-1), Cruz was walked intentionally and David Murphy reached on an infield single off the left knee of reliever Marc Rzepczynski to load the bases. Napoli followed with the double that gives him nine RBIs in 13 at-bats in the series.

St. Louis took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Yadier Molina’s run-scoring single to left and Skip Schumaker’s infield grounder.

Mitch Moreland got Texas on the board in the third with an upper-deck homer to right and Adrian Beltre tied the score by hitting a two-out shot to left in the sixth.

Darren Oliver (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Rangers to earn the win after starter C.J. Wilson allowed two runs – one earned – and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings.

Preview Cardinals at Rangers

Dave Johnson — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:55:01 +0000

THE STORY: The St. Louis Cardinals have led the World Series on two occasions, only to see the Texas Rangers respond both times. The result is a series tied at 2-2 heading into Monday’s pivotal Game 5 at Rangers Ballpark before the series moves back to St. Louis. The Rangers knotted the series Sunday when lefthander Derek Holland pitched 8 1/3 innings of two-hit ball in a 4-0 victory. The series is now a best-of-3 with top pitchers Chris Carpenter and C.J. Wilson meeting in a Game 1 rematch won by the Cardinals.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Fox.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH C.J. Wilson (0-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Chris Carpenter (1-0, 3.00 ERA)

Wilson is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in four postseason starts after losing Game 1 when he gave up three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Wilson walked a season-high six batters and has issued 14 bases on balls in 21 1/3 postseason innings.

Carpenter is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in four postseason outings and gave up two runs and five hits in six innings in Game 1. The runs off Carpenter were courtesy of Mike Napoli’s two-run homer. Carpenter’s victory was his eighth career postseason win, surpassing Bob Gibson’s franchise record.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Lance Berkman had both St. Louis hits on Sunday and has three multihit games in the series while batting .467. Albert Pujols was unable to follow up his epic Game 3 performance (five hits, three homers, six RBIs), going hitless in four at-bats. David Freese also was hitless to end his postseason hitting streak at 13 games. No. 4 hitter Matt Holliday went 0-for-4 and is batting .133 with zero RBIs in the series.

ABOUT THE RANGERS: Napoli hit a big three-run homer Sunday for his second of the series. He has driven in seven runs in nine at-bats. Josh Hamilton had a run-scoring double to drive in the first run but is just 2-for-16 in the series. Hot-hitting Adrian Beltre was hitless in four at-bats after banging out four hits on Sunday. Holland’s solid outing gave the Texas bullpen some much-needed rest as only Neftali Feliz was used to get the final two outs.

FINAL PITCH: Napoli is the first catcher to hit two homers in the World Series since Mike Piazza for the New York Mets in 2000.

Recap Rangers 4 Cardinals 0

Dave Johnson — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:09:03 +0000

Derek Holland took a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning and Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer as the Texas Rangers defeated the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Sunday to even up the World Series at two games apiece.

Holland struck out seven and walked two in 8 1/3 innings and Josh Hamilton had a run-scoring double as the Rangers rebounded from a 16-7 loss in Saturday’s Game 3.

Holland (1-0) was removed after walking Rafael Furcal with one out in the ninth. Neftali Feliz walked Allen Craig before getting Albert Pujols to fly out and striking out Matt Holliday.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Monday at Rangers Ballpark.

Texas led 1-0 in the sixth when Nelson Cruz and David Murphy drew one-out walks off Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson (0-1). Mitchell Boggs entered the contest and Napoli smacked his first pitch into the left-field stands.

Lance Berkman had both St. Louis hits. Pujols was hitless in four at-bats one night after his epic three-homer performance that included five hits and six RBIs in Game 3.

Holland pitched four shutouts in the regular season to tie for the American League lead with Tampa Bay’s James Shields.

Elvis Andrus singled with one out in the first and scored on Hamilton’s double down the first-base line for the first Texas run.

Jackson allowed three runs and three hits but walked seven in 5 1/3 innings.

Preview Cardinals at Rangers

Dave Johnson — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 08:55:01 +0000

THE STORY: Albert Pujols has quite an act to follow when the St. Louis Cardinals look to expand on their 2-1 lead over the Texas Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday. Pujols put on one of the top offensive shows in World Series history in Saturday’s contest by tying records with three homers, six RBIs and five hits in the Cardinals’ 16-7 trouncing of the Rangers. Pujols joins Babe Ruth (1926, 1928) and Reggie Jackson (1977) as the only players with three homers in a World Series game, and he set a record with 14 total bases.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, Fox.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Derek Holland (16-5, 3.95 ERA)

Jackson is 1-0 with a 5.84 ERA in three postseason starts. He lasted just two innings in his most-recent outing against the Milwaukee Brewers. Jackson is 2-3 with a 4.02 ERA in seven career starts against Texas. Ian Kinsler is batting .333 with two homers in 18 career at-bats against Jackson.

Holland is 1-0 with a 5.27 ERA in four postseason appearances. He has allowed five homers in 13 2/3 innings and hasn’t made it through the fifth inning in two of his three starts. Holland has never faced the Cardinals. Nick Punto is 3-for-5 with a homer against Holland.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Pujols has 18 career postseason homers, including four in World Series play. His six RBIs tied the record shared by Bobby Richardson (1960) and Hideki Matsui (2009) and his five hits matched the mark set by Paul Molitor in 1982. The 16 runs scored by the Cardinals tied for second most in World Series. The record is 18 scored by the 1936 New York Yankees. Yadier Molina had four RBIs and David Freese had two hits to extend his postseason hitting streak to 13 games. Saturday’s victory was the 68th postseason win for Tony La Russa, pushing him past Bobby Cox for second-most wins behind Joe Torre’s 84.

ABOUT THE RANGERS: Texas had four extra-base hits, including homers by Michael Young and Nelson Cruz, after having just two over the first two games. Adrian Beltre had four hits is batting .538 in the series. Josh Hamilton (.083) had his first hit of the World Series and speculated before Game 3 that he might have a sports hernia as opposed to a groin injury.

FINAL PITCH: The Cardinals have scored first in each game of the World Series and in 10 consecutive postseason games overall.