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St. Louis native David Freese series MVP. Why not after Game 6.
Resiliencey is not a word.
Yadda yadda yadda
Oh boy, Chris Rose.
***
The Molina family has a load of World Series rings.
Who is MVP? David Freese or Lance Berkman?
***
This was an excellent World Series. A better 7th game would have made it great.
***
Truly a great story for everyone who isn't a Texas fan.
St. Louis Cardinals are the world champions.
Mike Napoli grounds out. Two outs.
Nolan Ryan looks like he has not digested his dinner.
One out.
Jason Motte, the bearded one, apparently received the phone call. He's in to close it out for St. Louis.
Cardinals three outs away from their 11th World Series Championship, No. 2 behind the New York Yankees.
Top of the ninth
***
Alexi Ogando, one pitch, one strikeout. Nice work if you can get it.
Fox has decided St. Louis has won. It is trotting out the graphics of the Cardinals comeback for the wild card. Interesting to note that since 1920, the St. Louis franchise has been in the post season every decade but the 1950s and 1970s.
St. Louis second baseman Nick Punto is one lucky dude. Just think, he was with Minnesota.
Bottom of the eighth
***
Cardinals pitching has been better than Texas most of the series and it reveals itself to the fullest extent tonight.
Lance Lynn pitches for St. Louis, facing Josh Hamilton. Texas must score at least a couple of runs this inning going into the ninth.
Top of the eighth
***
Well, the Texas bullpen has been just horrible the last two games.
Molina singles and Lance Berkman scores again. 6-2 Cardinals. Is Berkman the series MVP?
Telling stat, Texas has walked a record 41 batters in this series. I guess that offsets the lack of production by the St. Louis leadoff hitters.
Texas cannot afford to allow any more runs. Yadair Molina in a big spot with two on and one out.
Was Albert Pujols' last at bat for St. Louis a strike out?
Mike Adams pitching for Texas. He is one of the few Ranger relievers to do well this series.
Bottom of the seventh
***
Dotel blows Kinsler away and retires the side. Time is running out for Texas, but the power will come up next inning.
Ian Kinsler, right hitter in the right spot. I like the bunt because David Freese is not a good fielding third baseman.
The manager wheels are turning. Tony LaRussa vs. Ron Washington.
Octavio Dotel is warming up for St. Louis and David Murphy doubles for Texas. Carpenter comes out to big applause. He pitched well after a shaky start. Now, the task begins for St. Louis — the bullpen, which can't be that confident after being pounded by Texas.
Top of the seventh
***
Arthur Rhodes is warming for the Cards.
Why wouldn't St. Louis want Chris Carpenter to pitch the seventh? The Cardinal ace is pitching like the postseason veteran is he. Looks like Texas' only chance for late-inning heroics is to get into the St. Louis bullpen.
Bottom of the sixth
***
Nice catch by Allen Craig against the wall. Ball was going out.
If the game stays this way, is David Freese the series MVP?
Chris Carpenter is painting the corners.
Top of the sixth
***
St. Louis leaves the bases loaded, but five runs could be enough with the way Carpenter is throwing.
Oh my, Wilson drills Rafael Furcal. 5-2. The Rangers have imploded, as Joe Buck points out, eight batters and the ball has not left the infield.
C.J. Wilson enters the game withe bases loaded and two out. Although Wilson is a starter, he has been a relief pitcher, so this should not be unknown territory like it normally would be for someone who has only started. Exciting stuff.
4-2 Cardinals. Yadair Molina walks on 3-2 pitch.
Just noticed no shots of Nolan Ryan.
Texas fans must be chewing their nails to the nub.
Rangers intentionally walk David Freese to load bases to pitch to Yadair Molina.
Great pitch by Scott Feldman. But a single could score two as both runners advance.
Big moment now. Albert Pujols hit by pitch and now St. Louis has runners on first and second with switch-hitter Lance Berkman coming to the plate. This could be the game as C.J. Wilson warms in the Texas bullpen.
My bet, Allen Craig doesn't try to steal second.
New pitcher for Texas, Scott Feldman, who sort of resembles Abe Lincoln. Matt Harrison barely lasted four innings.
Cardinal lead-off hitters have done nothing during this World Series. How the series is tied is beyond me.
Top of the order for St. Louis in the bottom of the fifth.
***
Young is a great hitter and Carpenter made him look silly.
Great pitch, Carpenter jams Hamilton into foul pop out.
Carpenter isn't giving Hamilton anything close.
If Andrus bunts Kinsler to second, will St. Louis walk Hamilton?
Top of the fifth
***
Cardinals strand 2, Cards still lead 3-2 going into the fifth.
Harrison reminds me of Sylvester the Cat, hanging on a clothes line with just one pinky. And the Cardinals are Tweety Bird.
Big hitter for Harrison, with pitcher on deck.
Whoa, a drop to seventh in the lineup appears to have awakened the St. Louis shortstop. Two hits tonight and the Cardinals are rallying again. What can pitching coach Mike Maddux tell Harrison?
Ideal hit and run count, 2-1, except that Furcal hasn't hit.
In a way, Carpenter reminds me of Detroit's Justin Verlander — a big, reliable horse. This could be a career-defining performance.
***
Big 4th inning for Carpenter, facing the bottom of the Texas batting. He looks as if he has found his rhythm.
Washington allows Harrison to hit because the bases are empty.
Bad news for Texas. Carpenter has found it.
***
Allen Craig homer gives Cards the lead, 3-2 in the third. A shot to right. Harrison is on life support.
Michael Young is a great athlete, but he is not a first baseman.
***
Have to say, with very few exceptions, the umpiring has been pretty good.
I wonder if McCarver knows who Hugh Jackman is?
Carpenter made one bad pitch but cruises through the top of the third. 2-2.
***
Carpenter lives. 2-2 going into bottom of the second. Carpenter is the type of pitcher who could find his rhythm.
Cardinals' hitting coach Mark McGwire is noticeably thinner these days.
Much needed short inning for Harrison. Texas needs for Harrison to go at least five innings. The Rangers' bullpen is not as deep as St. Louis'.
***
Every time Napoli does something well, Angel fans curse their team's front office. Oops, another Napoli single.
Kinsler walks and the Rangers are threatening again. Tony LaRussa can't go much longer with Carpenter.
McCarver talks fishing trips. Good grief.
Kinsler escapes pickoff, but Pujols can't control ball. I like Kinsler a lot, but he's not been very heads up tonight.
***
Bottom of the first will be key for Texas. Harrison needs to shut down the Cards to maintain the Rangers' momentum. Texas scored first Thursday, but St. Louis took a 2-1 lead on a Lance Berkman homer.
I'd walk Pujols and Berkman, who is hitting .435 in the series.
Nice, a sign in the crowd lauding Berkman's mullet.
David Freese receives well-deserved ovation.
Big pitch coming up. It's 2-2, Harrison doesn't want to go 3-2.
And he does. Now the runners will take off on the pitch. Anything in the gap could score two.
Hate to say I told you so... 2-2 tie.
McCarver impresses us with his ability to read stats.
Harrison doesn't have it, either. Who will recover first, Carpenter or Harrison? My money is on Carpenter.
2-2 going into the second inning.
***
I would not be surprised if Carpenter pitched into the late innings.
Was Ian Kinsler a victim of a missed sign. Elvis Andrus squared to bunt and Kinsler fell down.
Carpenter doesn't have it. Bet the Rangers wish Kinsler would not have been picked off first, technically a caught stealing. Texas leads 1-0. I guess Buck and Tim McCarver can stop talking about Josh Hamilton's groin injury.
2-0 Texas after one-half.
***
Carpenter has fanned 16 batters this series, while Harrison has struck out 15 batters. Harrison's earned-run average this playoff has not been good, which appears to favor St. Louis.
Nelson Cruz is listed in the starting lineup for Texas.
Another National Anthem that is more about the singer than the words being sung. In the case it was Chris Daughty.
Not a huge Joe Buck fan, but his call of David Freese's game-winning home Thursday, an homage to his father, the late Jack Buck's call of Game 6 in 1991, "We'll see you tomorrow night," could not have been better timed.
***
Can St. Louis and Texas pull off another historic performance Friday night in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series?
Rarely have the seventh game of the World Series lived up to the historic Game 6 battles that have lifted Major League Baseball to another level.
But it has happened. In 1991, following Minnesota outfielder Kirby Puckett's Game 6 heroics, Twins' pitcher Jack Morris outdueled Atlanta's John Smoltz with a brilliant Game 7 10-inning shutout championship victory.
In 1975, the night after Carlton Fisk's home run in the 12th inning to give Boston new life, Game 7 was nearly as good as Cincinnati came from behind to claim a World Series title.
Will St. Louis, which pulled off two miracle comebacks Thursday night, is going old school by starting Chris Carpenter three times. Rangers' manager Ron Washington will hand Matt Harrison the ball.
A couple things, outfielder Matt Holliday will not be in the starting lineup for St. Louis with an injured hand. Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz is a game-time decision with a hamstring. Can Rangers catcher Mike Napoli will start despite a sprained ankle.
Just so you know, before the series began, I picked Texas to beat the Cardinals in seven games. So, I'm sticking with that prediction.
So, let's go. The series begins in 20 minutes.