October 28, 2011

Cardinals Epic Win Forces Game 7

By - Kris Fletcher

In what was an absolutely incredible game full of lead changes and back-and-forth drama, the St. Louis Cardinals pulled out an amazing 10-9 victory over the Texas Rangers last night at Busch Stadium to send the World Series to a decisive seventh game.

David Freese hit the game-winning walk-off home run to dead center in the bottom of the eleventh, after the Rangers were twice just a strike away from the title.

Photo by: Rob Carr
"Just an incredible feeling, seeing all my teammates at the dish waiting for me," Freese said afterwards. "That's what this team is all about. We never give up."

Ironically, Freese had already written himself into St. Louis lore in the ninth inning with a two-strike, two-out, two-run triple off Neftali Feliz that tied the game at 7.

That was the first of two blown opportunities by Texas to end the series.

The second came after a hobbled Josh Hamilton had given the Rangers the lead with a two-run homer in the tenth. In the bottom half of the inning, again with the Cardinals season down to its final strike, Lance Berkman stroked an RBI single to center of Scott Feldman to tie the game at 9.

As the game progressed, it seemed as if St. Louis was just destined to win it. Texas led on five separate occasions, only to see the "Cardiac Cards" rally back each time when all hope seemed lost.

"It's not that easy to win a world championship,'' Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I give them credit for taking the game away from us."

Photo by: Matt Slocum
St. Louis certainly proved they're not going to go away quietly. Now, Texas has to prove that they can bounce back from a devastating loss.

It certainly won't be easy.

Home teams have won the last eight Game 7s in the World Series, a streak that started with the Cardinals beating the Milwaukee Brewers back in 1982.

Added to that, the Rangers may now also have to face Chris Carpenter, who received a gift from the Gods in the form of an extra days rest when Game 6, which had originally been scheduled for Wednesday night, was pushed back until Thursday due to rain. Rain, I might add, that never came.

Still don't believe in destiny? Maybe it's time you start.

7 comments:

  1. Epic is the perfect word to describe it. Game was UNREAL. Loved every minute of it.

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  2. I don't think Texas will be able to bounce back in Game 7 after that heart breaker last night. If they do, I'll be stunned.

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  3. No way the Rangers bounce back from such a demoralizing loss. To be one strike away from winning it twice and not get the job done is tragic.

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  4. Everyone that thinks it's just a foregone conclusion that the Cards are now going to win the series is wrong. Sure, it was a tough loss for the Rangers, but it took a lot out of St. Louis to come back all those times as well. ANYTHING can happen in a Game 7.

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  5. I would be willing to bet anything that the Cardinals win tonight. They've managed to make every mistake a team can possibly make in the series - from poor fielding to poor base running to overall poor managerial decisions by LaRussa - YET the series is STILL tied 3-3, and now they have their ace on the hill tonight AT HOME for Game 7. It's almost as if the outcome of this series was already pre-determined before it even started.

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  6. Oh so what J. Wright, the Cardinals have managed to get it to a Game 7 because some "higher power" has intervened? Give me a break!

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  7. Great job by St. Louis to pull out the victory, but it means nothing if they don't win tonight. Regardless though, Game 6 was an all-time classic.

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