The last two days have been nothing short of magical for Cardinals fans. Down three games to two to the Texas Rangers, the Cardinals knew they needed a little pixie dust... they just didn't realize how much. Charles Dickens accurately described Game Six with the opening of his novel A Tale of Two Cities with this, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
The first 6 innings of the game featured five egregious errors, many leading to unearned runs. Then things changed, and not in the Cardinals' favor. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back home runs in the 7th inning. The Cardinals stole one back in the 8th on an Allen Craig home run. Then the magic happened. Bottom of the 9th inning. Albert doubles. Berkman walks. Two outs. David Freese, Cardinals postseason hero, steps up to the plate. The pitcher, Neftali Feliz, quickly ran the count to 1-2, bringing the Cardinals within one strike of elimination. Only one team in World Series history had ever come back from their last strike to win a World Series, the '86 Mets. Boom. David Freese. Triple off the right field wall. Score: 7-7, heading to extra innings.
Josh Hamilton, a miracle story in his own right (amazing video about Josh Hamilton overcoming his addictions), had been fighting an injury that, by his own admission, would have landed him on the DL had this been the regular season. He hadn't homered in over 80 at-bats. That streak ended in the 10th inning, his two-run shot putting the Rangers up 9-7.
Lefty Daren Oliver trotted out of the Texas bullpen, his job to retire the Cardinals' first two hitters, lefties Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso. He failed, miserably, allowing singles to both men. A few batters later, Lance Berkman strides to home plate, man on second with two outs, the Cardinals trailing 9-8. Scott Feldman, complete with his Abe Lincoln-esque beard, stared Berkman down from the mound. The count went to 2-2. Again the Cardinals were down to their last strike. Feldman tried to jam Berkman with an inside pitch. Berkman calmly deposited the ball in center field. Tie game. Busch Stadium was in a delirium.
The Rangers' portion of the 11th inning was uneventful, the maligned Jake Westbrook completing his humble job with tight efficiency. David Freese led off the Cardinals' 11th, game knotted at 9 apiece. The crowd still buzzed from the excitement of the last two innings, shock and awe clearly written on their faces. They had no idea what was going to come next. Freese, already written in to their hearts and the history books innings earlier, waited for the 3-2 pitch to come his way. We will never really know what was going through his brain at that point. We will never know, nor, honestly, do we care. We do know this: Freese deposited a moon-shot into the grassy knoll in center. The Busch stadium fans, loud before, launched into a baseball-drunk raucous, not a person in their seat. Freese rounded the bases, a gigantic grin of his face.
At home his teammates mobbed and "shredded" (ripped his jersey off) him, giddy as schoolgirls. The stadium sounded with an incessant roar, too shocked comprehend the magnitude of the moment. Rally towels waved frantically, people hugged and celebrated in their seats. Jubilant ushers even joined in the party.Do The miracle resurgence was, almost, complete; they simply had to win Game 7. And we all know what happened there:
The first 6 innings of the game featured five egregious errors, many leading to unearned runs. Then things changed, and not in the Cardinals' favor. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz hit back-to-back home runs in the 7th inning. The Cardinals stole one back in the 8th on an Allen Craig home run. Then the magic happened. Bottom of the 9th inning. Albert doubles. Berkman walks. Two outs. David Freese, Cardinals postseason hero, steps up to the plate. The pitcher, Neftali Feliz, quickly ran the count to 1-2, bringing the Cardinals within one strike of elimination. Only one team in World Series history had ever come back from their last strike to win a World Series, the '86 Mets. Boom. David Freese. Triple off the right field wall. Score: 7-7, heading to extra innings.
| (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) |
Josh Hamilton, a miracle story in his own right (amazing video about Josh Hamilton overcoming his addictions), had been fighting an injury that, by his own admission, would have landed him on the DL had this been the regular season. He hadn't homered in over 80 at-bats. That streak ended in the 10th inning, his two-run shot putting the Rangers up 9-7.
Lefty Daren Oliver trotted out of the Texas bullpen, his job to retire the Cardinals' first two hitters, lefties Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso. He failed, miserably, allowing singles to both men. A few batters later, Lance Berkman strides to home plate, man on second with two outs, the Cardinals trailing 9-8. Scott Feldman, complete with his Abe Lincoln-esque beard, stared Berkman down from the mound. The count went to 2-2. Again the Cardinals were down to their last strike. Feldman tried to jam Berkman with an inside pitch. Berkman calmly deposited the ball in center field. Tie game. Busch Stadium was in a delirium.
 |
| Photo AP, St. Louis Cardinals |
At home his teammates mobbed and "shredded" (ripped his jersey off) him, giddy as schoolgirls. The stadium sounded with an incessant roar, too shocked comprehend the magnitude of the moment. Rally towels waved frantically, people hugged and celebrated in their seats. Jubilant ushers even joined in the party.Do The miracle resurgence was, almost, complete; they simply had to win Game 7. And we all know what happened there:
 |
| (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) |
Thanks guys, for a great run. #11in11
ahhhhhh sooo goood
ReplyDeleteI understood 31% of this. Very nice. :) Good job.
ReplyDeleteI see you have some loyal followers.
ReplyDelete