Sac Flies sting Jason Motte, Rangers go 1 – 1 in the World Series
Ian Kinsler was an inspirational figure on Thursday, October 20, when the Texas Rangers secured a 1 – 1 foothold in the World Series with a 2 – 1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 at the Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Texans brought on Colby
Lewis to the mound and he did his job well as he contained the opposition to just one run. It was Jaime Garcia who looked strong in the night as he pitched seven scoreless innings for the Cards.
Garcia made most of the difference on the result of the game. His strong pitching made Cards’ manager Tony La Russa very proud. He pitched seven innings, conceding just three hits and a walk. His 87 ball pitches generated seven strikeouts and that made many
followers of the club praise his contribution from the stands.
Lewis was unlucky to pick up a run in his 6.2 innings of pitching. The problem came through in the seventh inning when the first run of the game was scored. The hurler struck out Matt Holliday to start the inning. David Freese came in to hit a single to
the centre. Yadier Molina came in next but he picked up an out with fly shot to the left. Nick Punto then came in to smash a single. Freese moved to third base.
Allen Craig came in to hit and Texas manager Ron Washington took no chances against the pinch hitter as he brought on Alexi Ogando to deal with the problem. That however proved costly as Craig punished Ogando again, like in Game 1, with a single to the right.
Freese scored the first run of the game and the St. Louis club went on top with a 1 – 0 score line. Ogando finished his pitching performance with a ground out and he was simultaneously replaced in the latter innings.
Lewis finished his tenure with a run from four hits in 6.2 innings. Looking to win, the Cardinals did not do their job well as the club lost its effectiveness with the bullpen. Jason Motte was the man to sustain a lot of damage and it all came down to the
ninth inning.
Ian Kinsler managed a stunning single to first base and that kicked off a fight back initiative for the Texans. Elvis Andrus walked on to the batting plate and the shortstop distracted Motte as Kinsler successfully stole the second base. Andrus moved to
the first subsequently as he put Motte away for a single to the centre. Kinsler had now moved on to the third base.
Arthur Rhodes relieved Motte and that meant something had to give. Josh Hamilton brought the equalizer home as he hit a sacrifice fly to the right. Kinsler ran home for a 1 – 1 score line and Andrus moved to third base. Michael Young came in next to bat
and he repeated Hamilton’s antics as he hit a sacrifice fly to put Andrus through for a 2 – 1 Rangers lead.
Neftali Feliz closed the Cards down as he walked Molina and then struck out two hitters. He ended the game with a fly out. Mike Adams picked up the win for the Rangers and Motte received a loss for his dismal performance on the mound.
The Rangers are now the only third team in World Series history to come back from a 1 – 0 deficit in the ninth inning with a victory.
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