Cardinals Freese Rangers, Force Game 7

This was an amazing game- it fits right in there with Game 6 of the 1975 World Series (maybe not that great, but still!). With runners at 1st and 3rd in the 1st inning, Josh Hamilton singled to right to make it 1-0. However, the Cards came back at Lance Berkman hit a 2-run homer to center field in the bottom half. In the 2nd, Craig Gentry scored on a ground-rule double by Ian Kinsler. In the 4th, the Rangers took a 3-2 lead as Mike Napoli drove in Nelson Cruz with a single. However, the Cardinals tied it in the 4th with an RBI groundout by Yadier Molina. In the 5th, an RBI double by Michael Young made it 4-3. However, the Cardinals tied it in the 6th when they loaded the bases with 1 out. Yadier Molina walked an made it 4-4 in the process. However, the Rangers led off the 7th with back-to-back home runs by Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre to make it 6-4, and later in the inning, Ian Kinsler drove in another run. In the 8th, Allen Craig launched a solo home run to make it 7-5. In the bottom of the 9th, with two outs, the Cardinals had runners at 1st and 2nd. David Freese launched a triple into right to tie it at 7-7. However, the Rangers popped right back ahead in the 10th, as Josh Hamilton launched a 2-run homer to make it 9-7. However, with 1 out, Ryan Theriot made it a 1-run game with an RBI groundout and Lance Berkman singled to tie it up at 9-9. David Freese led off the 11th with a home run to center to win the game and send it to a Game 7!

        Neither pitcher was particularly good, and that includes the bullpen. Colby Lewis was ok, allowing 2 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. For the Cardinals, Fernando Salas was good, tossing 2 scoreless innings of relief- but those were about the only highlights pitching-wise. For the Cardinals, one of the biggest heroes was Lance Berkman, who had a great game, going 3-5 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs including a 2-run homer. David Freese (left), of course, was the real hero though as he had both a game-tying triple and the walkoff homer in a 2-5, 3 RBI game. For the Rangers, Ian Kinsler had a good game, going 2-5 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Josh Hamilton also had a good game, going 3-6 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs- including a 2-run homer. For the much-awaited Game 7 pitching matchup , there will be Matt Harrison for the Rangers and Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals.