OCTOBER MIRACLE!

In a season that will never be duplicated, a fight against odds nearly impossible to overcome, the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals have won their 11th World Series title tonight against the Texas Rangers in Game 7.


The Cardinals were 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the Wild Card berth on August 27th, but they clawed their way back through the month of September and clinched the Wild Card on the very last game of the regular season against the Houston Astros.


Just making the playoffs was thought to be the climax of the Cardinals' run as they were set to the face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. The Phillies led the MLB in wins with 102, so naturally many national media outlets wrote the Cardinals off.


The Cardinals, after falling behind 2-1 in the NLDS, won Game 4 and 5, which advanced them to the NLCS to face their division rivals for the Pennant in the NLCS, the Milwaukee Brewers.


The Brewers finished with 96 regular season wins and won the Central Division, boasting an explosive offense as their backbone. The Cardinals beat them in six games and took home the NL Pennant.


Despite the Red Bird's wild ride through the first two rounds of the playoffs, they were once again considered the underdogs against a Texas Rangers team that was making their second consecutive World Series appearance.


The Cardinals jumped ahead early in the series with a 2-1 lead, including a historic Game 3 that was dominated by Albert Pujols and his three home run performance. He became just the third player in baseball history to hit three homers in a single World Series game, the other two being Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth.


But the Cards fell behind after losing back-to-back games in Arlington, which gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the series.


However, the series returned to St. Louis for Game 6 and 7, and that's when things got wild.


The Cardinals were losing Game 6 by three runs (5-3) entering the eight-inning. Allen Craig chipped away at the lead with a solo shot in the eight, but the Rangers still entered the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead.


A David Freese triple with two strikes, two out and two on sent the game into extra-innings.


The Rangers again took a two run lead in the top of the 10th, but the Cardinals were able to battle back in the bottom of the inning with and RBI by Ryan Theriot and a two-out RBI by Lance Berkman, which kept the game alive.

The Rangers were not so lucky in the 11th as they were unable to put any runs on the board. David Freese led off the bottom of the 11th and ended the game with a heroic walk-off home run that forced Game 7.




Do You Believe In Miracles?


The fantasy of a juggernaut run towards a World Series title was present in the minds of Cardinal Nation ever since the team squeaked into the playoffs, but making it a reality was far from feasible.

That is, until they won the pennant. And once the team stubbornly refused to end their season in Game 6, it was already over and written in stone. The dramatic victory in Game 6 made Game 7 nothing but a formality.  


Chris Carpenter went six full innings on short rest and finished with only two runs and five strikeouts. It was the exact type of performance the team needed out of him.


Both of the runs off Carpenter came in the top of the first-inning, but a two-RBI double by David Freese in the bottom of the 1st tied it up.


Allen Craig hit a solo home run in third-inning, which gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night (3-2).


Things began to get out of hand in the fifth-inning when the bases were loaded and the Rangers walked in a run. Furcal was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and the two-run inning gave the Cardinals a 5-2 lead. Yadier Molina then made it 6-2 with a RBI single in the 7th.


A dominate eigth-inning shutout by Lance Lynn set up Jason Motte with an opportunity to close it out in the 9th and he came through with three up and three down.


Craig made the final catch, Yadi fell to his knees, Motte was mauled on the mound, Furcal reached for the sky, Lance Berkman hugged the nearest thing in sight, LaRussa was smiling for the first time this decade and Freese won the MVP, as well as a nifty Corvette.


Questions remain regarding 2012, particularly whether or not Albert Pujols will stick around and finish his career under the Gateway Arch, but for now the Cardinals are on top.

Cardinals Cough Up Game 2, Series Tied 1-1

The St. Louis Cardinals failed to put themselves ahead in the World Series with a frustrating Game 2 loss to the Texas Rangers. It was a tense 2-1 victory for the Rangers, but the series is still tied 1-1.


The game was a pitcher's dual in every way, which is clear due to fact only one total run was scored before the ninth-inning.

Cardinals' starter Jaime Garcia went seven shutout innings with only three hits and one walk, as well seven strikeouts before being replaced by a string of relievers after the seventh-inning.


Rangers' starter Colby Lewis had a solid outing himself. He went six scoreless innings with four strikeouts and only four hits and two walks. However, his luck ran out in the seventh-inning after giving up singles to David Freese and Nick Punto.


With the pitcher's spot in lineup coming up for the Cardinals' after Punto's single, Tony LaRussa opted to pinch hit for Garcia with Allen Craig, which brought forth a familiar situation. The Rangers replaced Lewis with Alexi Ogando to face Craig, which is exactly what happened in Game 1.

And just like in Game 1, where Craig hit a pinch hit single off of Ogando to score Freese and give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead, he singled again tonight off Ogando... to score Freese and give the Cardinals the lead (1-0).


With a perfect eight-inning by Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski, Jason Motte was set up with a ninth-inning opportunity to close the game, but that's when the momentum shifted.

Motte led off the inning by giving up back-to-back hits to Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus. LaRussa then pulled Motte from the game and replaced him with Arthur Rhodes, who gave up a sacrifice fly to score Kinsler. Lance Lynn then replaced Rhodes. Lynn gave up another sacrifice fly that put the Rangers ahead ahead 2-1.


There was some hope in the bottom of the ninth after Texas closer Neftali Feliz gave up a lead-off walk to Yadier Molina, but Feliz managed to strike out the next two batters (Nick Punto, Skip Schumaker). Rafael Furcal made the final out with a pop fly to right-field.


The Cardinals will have Friday off and the series will continue with Game 3 on Saturday in Arlington, Texas. The series will not return the Busch Stadium until Game 6.

FOX World Series Infrared Camera Picks Up Shocking Footage

The St. Louis Cardinals took Game 1 of the World Series over the Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium with a final score of 3-2. 


The Cardinals' solid start to the World Series on top of an already historic post-season run has many wondering what kind of magic has really been occurring at Busch Stadium this Fall. 


Thanks to Fox's new infrared cameras that they've introduced for the World Series, we've been able to get a glimpse beyond the human eye to reveal the real cause of the Red Bird's wild run through October...

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Photo Credited to Bob Loblaw, member of STLtoday.com

The St. Louis Cardinals Win the Pennant!

After being 10.5 games out of the wild card as late as August 26th, the St. Louis Cardinals have put together maybe the most impressive and historic drive towards an NL Pennant in baseball history. 

The Cardinals won a wild card berth on the very last game of the regular season, which put them into post-season play. 


They faced the Philadelphia Phillies, who won 102 regular season games, in the NLDS, winning in Game 5 with the score of 1-0 after ace Chris Carpenter put together a historic three-hit complete game shutout.


The Cards then entered the NLCS to face their Central Division rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers. 

The Brewers took the first game, but the Redbirds took a win before the series headed back to Busch Stadium. The Cardinals took a Game 3 victory, but lost the Game 4. The final game in St. Louis was a convincing 7-1 victory for the Cardinals, but they were forced to head back to Miller Park for Game 6. 


The Brewers are known for their power in Miller Park, and it showed in Game 6. 


The Cardinals' Game 6 starter Edmond Jackson gave up three homers and four runs in the first two innings, which is certainly not an ideal start. 


Unfortunately for the Brewers, the Cardinals had some offense as well. 


A four-run first-inning, the result of a Lance Berkman RBI and a three-run home run by David Freese, forced the Brewers to play catch-up from the start.  


Rafael Furcal had a solo shot in the second-inning. The third-inning was another four-run inning highlighted by a two-run shot by Albert Pujols. 


At that point the Cardinals were winning 9-4 and the Brewers were overwhelmed ever since, but that didn't stop the Redbirds from scoring two in the fifth and one more in the eighth. 


Despite limping to the barn with the bullpen due to a short lived game by the starter for a sixth consecutive time, the Cardinals finished with 13 hits and beat the Brewers by the score of 12-6. 


The Cardinals won the NLCS four games to two. It is their third NL Pennant since 2004. It is the team's 18th NL Pennant, and they have won more Pennants than any other National League team in the last 15 years. 


The Cardinals will face the Texas Rangers in the World Series. Ace Chris Carpenter is set to be the Game 1 starter. 

Garcia Pieces Together A Gem

Things were shaping up to be a historic night at Busch Stadium, but the fans are willing to settle for a win.

The St. Louis Cardinals' second year pitcher Jaime Garcia was perfect through seven innings. After he took the mound in the 8th, everyone could feel him inching ever-so close to a perfect game, which is arguably the most difficult task to accomplish in all of professional sports.

It was just not meant to be.

Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers lead off the 8th inning, grounding out to first base. There was a sigh of relief, as Fielder is a dangerous hitter.

But Garcia made his first goof-up of the night when Casey McGehee stepped up to the plate as the second batter of the 8th. The pressure was probably overwhelming in Garcia's mind, which is probably what caused him to walk McGehee in only four pitches.

The crowd responded to the walk with a hearty applause, which was well deserved, despite the walk. Also, they all knew that the "no-hitter" was still possible, and thats no small feat either.

Unfortunately the "no-hitter" was not meant to be either, as the very next batter, Yuniesky Betancourt, was able to squeeze a ground ball into the outfield.

What Garcia was able to accomplish, on the other hand, was pitch a phenomenal game. He pitched a complete game, giving up only two hits and one walk, and he shut out the opponent.

Many were skeptical towards to the Cardinals starting rotation after it was announced that Adam Wainwright would miss the entire season, but the rotation has been responding to the pressure, and it is fair to say that Garcia has been the "Ace" of the rotation so far this season.

Outside of Garcia's spectacular outing, the rest of the team played a solid game as well.

Colby Rasmus had a triple and an RBI; Yadier Molina hit his second home run of the season; Matt Holliday had an RBI; and superstar Albert Pujols had a three RBI night.

Tonight was the first of a three game series against the Brewers, and the Cardinals walked away with a 6-0 win. The team is also enjoying a 1.5 game lead in the NL Central over the Cincinnati Reds, who are the defending champs of the division.