Chris Carpenter, C.J. Wilson determined for World Series Game 1 – MLB Update
St. Louis Cardinals’ ace Chris Carpenter and Texas Rangers’ ace C.J. Wilson are all-set to lock horns in Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Wednesday, October 19 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Although widely regarded as completely opposite pitchers as far as the approach is concerned, both pitchers have an equal craving for success. Carpenter aims to pitch through the game while Wilson approaches the game with an aggressive mindset of striking-out
batters.
After the Cardinals lost Adam Wainwright to a season-ending injury during the spring training, Carpenter emerged as the ace for the Redbirds. Although he could not start impressively, he picked form after the All-Star break and thereafter inspired the Cardinals
to overcome a sturdy Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card standings.
Carpenter tossed a two-hitter in the season-ending game against Houston Astros to ensure qualification for the NL Division Series and then outfoxed Roy Halladay in the elimination game to steel his team’s place in the Championship Series. Inspired by Carpenter’s
form, the bull-pen picked up on form and overpowered Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS to become only the tenth Wild Card team in the history of Majors to qualify for the Fall Classic.
The Rangers had to make a choice between Colby Lewis and Wilson to start Game 1 and the latter got the nod, largely because of his regular season performances. Three weeks ago, this choice would not have been in question because Wilson was steaming from
the mound. However, since the onset of the postseason, Wilson has failed to prevail in any start and has leaked runs at an average of 8.04.
Expressing disappointment after the Championship Series, Wilson said, "There's been some weird stuff that has happened in this series. It's whoever has the rabbit's foot that day or whoever gets the bounce."
Playing down concerns for another failure in the World Series, manager Ron Washington stated that Wilson has the ability to bounce back and this will be his chance to prove his worth for the Rangers, who lost against the San Francisco Giants in World Series
last year.
With form favouring Carpenter to prevail in the all-important Game 1, Wilson cannot be ruled-out this early.
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