The St. Louis Cardinals can't keep the Texas Rangers off the board in the ninth inning as they fall by a score of 2-1 in Game 2 of the 2011 World Series.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen finally sprung a leak after a postseason filled with sterling performances, and the offense wasn’t up to the task as Game 2 of the 2011 World Series goes to the Texas Rangers by a score of 2-1. Early trouble for Jason Motte in the ninth inning—protecting a 1-0 lead—led to two consecutive sacrifice flies for the Rangers, who had been stymied by Jaime Garcia for the game’s first seven innings. Allen Craig drove in the lone run for the Cardinals, who head to the Ballpark in Arlington with the series tied at one game apiece.
Things were nearly different, although the box score doesn’t show it: Albert Pujols just missed a solo home run on a night when nothing seemed to carry through the chilly air at Busch Stadium. But almost is rarely enough for a home run, and the front of the Cardinals’ batting order combined to go just 2-17 for Jaime Garcia, who went 7 shutout innings before being pulled for Craig.
The Cardinals and Rangers reconvene in Texas on Saturday, when rehabilitated swingman Matt Harrison goes up against an as-yet-determined Cardinals starter.
Game 2 of the 2011 World Series was a surprise pitchers' duel through seven innings, with Jaime Garcia striking out seven in as many scoreless innings, but the first run on the board was scored in a strikingly familiar way: Allen Craig singled to the opposite field off Alexi Ogando, driving in a run as pinch-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals' solid starter. This time the score is 1-0 as the Cardinals' bullpen returns to the field with a chance to stake them to a 2-0 lead going into Texas.
Colby Lewis had been excellent himself through six, but a single from postseason hero David Freese and a single off Mike Young's glove from Nick Punto left Craig and Ogando on the biggest stage in baseball for the second night in a row. The outcome was all too familiar for Rangers fans: Ogando threw two fastballs off the plate and Craig sliced the second one over the second baseman's head to drive in a go-ahead run.
With two innings in a row the outcome is anything but predetermined, but it seemed, for a moment, like that at-bat was.
Friday, October 7, 2011
World Series Game 2
10/07/2011
News Staff
