PART 2: Game 1 of the World Series
In Game 1, it was the outstanding combination of strong defence and ever aggressive offence that secured victory for the St. Louis Cardinals. The 3-2 score for the team was reassuring, given the phenomenally effective pitching spell of a capable hurler:
Chris Carpenter.
The St. Louis Cardinals starter, facing C. J. Wilson of the Rangers, pitch with efficacy; barely allowing 2 runs in the six innings that he pitched, compared to Wilson’s 3 runs in 5.2 innings.
While Lance Berkman brought the two-run single for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 4th inning, Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers was not to be left behind. He marshalled his resources to execute a powerful hit, putting together a two-run homer in
the Texas basket. This levelled the score at a very crucial time, putting some pressure on the Cardinals offence.
However, the time-tested Cardinals offence did not have to falter in finding a propitious opportunity to break the lead. They did it with success in the sixth inning when Allen Craig went for a single to right against C. J. Wilson, allowing David Freese
to complete the run, getting a supposedly safe lead for the Cardinals. Rest, as was anticipated, was to be done by the Cardinals defence, which they did it with ease.
Alex Ogando played his part well for the Texas Rangers, barely allowing any space to the Cardinals hitters to score. So were Mike Gonzalez and Scott Feldman, who pitched well to not give up.
“The plan was not to give in,” Wilson said. “I know they had either Carpenter coming up or a pinch hitter, and with Ogando warming up behind me, I have confidence that he's going to come in and get that guy out.”
The combination of pitchers who came afterwards threw seemingly unplayable pitches, with J. Motte coming loser to conclude the game with a 3-2 victory for the Cardinals, giving it an anxiously awaited 1-0 lead in the seven-game series.
The disappointment had to ensue. It had to descend on the Texas Rangers, a club that had thought it would be a hard nut to crack. They were quite right in their assessment. “I don't think we did the job when we needed,” Cruz said. “Men in scoring position
is when you need to deliver.”
The Texas Rangers’ team manager, Ron Washington was more frank in his assessment when he was asked what he thought of the game and said, “The pinch hitter got it done, and ours didn't. Got to give them credit, they beat us. We didn't give that game away
tonight.”
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