Ouch. This is a stinger. The St. Louis Cardinals will remember Game 5 of the World Series as a missed opportunity to drive in big runs.
Chris Carpenter battled through seven innings. His two mistakes resulted in homeruns. But because the Cardinals’ offense was inept, two home runs kept the Texas Rangers afloat and lively.
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The Cardinals stranded eight men in scoring position with two outs and left a total of 12 runners on base.
The Rangers are one victory from their first ever World Series victory.
The Cardinals just couldn’t come through with the big hit.
C.J. Wilson pitched in trouble all night. In 5.1 tedious innings, Wilson walked 5 batters and allowed two earned runs on four hits.
Ron Washington’s strategy of intentionally walking Albert Pujols paid off twice. Clean-up hitter Matt Holliday had a forgettable night, stranding 5 runners on base. His 3rd inning-ending double play set up a solo shot in the bottom half as Mitch Moreland belted a cutter into the upper deck.
After a night of domination from Derek Holland, the Redbird hitters now have 2 runs in their last 18 innings.
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St. Louis’ silver lining is that the Rangers will have to win at Busch Stadium where the Series continues Wednesday night.
I predicted that the best-case scenario following their Game 2 loss would be a return to St. Louis down three-games-to-two. The situation has presented itself. Jaime Garcia will be asked to shine on the big stage. He tossed seven shutout innings in Game 2 before Jason Motte blew the save and the win.
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