Tony La Russa terms character as the sole reason in St. Louis Cardinals victory – MLB Update
In Game 6, the St. Louis Cardinals were one strike away from losing the World Series, but showed enough character to win it in the 11th inning and then subdue the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 to win the Fall Classic for the 11th time
in the franchise history.
Third baseman David Freese was central to the win in Game 6, lashing a walk-off home-run in the 11th inning to win it 10-9 for the Cardinals. In Game 7, the NL Championship Series’ Most Valuable Player drove in a two-run double in the bottom half
of the first inning to keep the Cardinals in contention for the title, after Chris Carpenter had allowed the Rangers to score two at the top of the first.
Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa highlighted the fact that his team took the bull by the horn and thus had to fight on a daily basis to get this far in the season. He felt happy for the organisation, but emphasised his gladness for the first-timers.
La Russa continued that the only way to enjoy your game during October was to compete to the best of your ability and that is exactly what the team did. He added that the team fought hard against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series and it
was Carpenter who won the series for the Redbirds in Game 5, shutting down the NL East Champions and Roy Halladay in a three-hit complete-game effort.
The manager added that his team was rated as underdogs in the Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Cardinals fought all criticism to win the seven-game series in Game 6 and become only the tenth Wild Card team in the history of playoffs
to qualify for the World Series. Furthermore, the Cardinals won the NL pennant for the first time since 2006, imposing their authority over teams like Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Brewers.
Answering a question on Albert Pujols future, La Russa stated that the management will try to work out a deal with the player and it still remains to be seen how things unfold regarding his free agency.
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