2011 World Series
Encyclopedia
The 2011 World Series was the 107th edition of Major League Baseball
's championship series
. The best-of-seven playoff was played between the American League champion
Texas Rangers
and the National League champion
St. Louis Cardinals
, with the Cardinals defeating the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship.
In the cliff-hanging Game 6, the Cardinals twice erased two-run deficits when the Rangers were one strike away from their first championship, and won it in 11 innings, 10–9. It was also well known for the blowout Game 3, where Cardinals player Albert Pujols
hit three home runs, matching a feat accomplished only by Reggie Jackson
and Babe Ruth
.
The Series began on October 19, earlier than the previous season so that no games would be played in November. The Cardinals enjoyed home-field advantage for the series because the National League won the 2011 All-Star Game
5–1 on July 12. The 2011 World Series was the first seven-game World Series since .
to the San Francisco Giants
in five games. They were the first American League team to play in consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees
did it from to . They earned their postseason berth by winning the American League West
division, and defeated the Tampa Bay Rays
in the American League Division Series
and the Detroit Tigers
in the American League Championship Series
to earn their World Series berth.
The Cardinals appeared in their 18th World Series, and third in eight years. They lost to the Boston Red Sox
in , but won in against the Detroit Tigers
. The Cardinals earned their postseason berth by winning the National League Wild Card
on the last day of the regular season, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies
in the National League Division Series
and the Milwaukee Brewers
in the National League Championship Series
to earn their World Series berth.
This Series was only the second time the Rangers and the Cardinals played each other; they met in regular-season interleague play
in 2004, where the Cardinals won two games of a three-game series in Texas. This was the first World Series assignment for umpires Greg Gibson
and Ron Kulpa
. Each of the other umpires had previously worked one World Series.
The Cardinals were supported by fans brandishing Rally Squirrel
memorabilia to celebrate their new impromptu mascot acquired during the playoff run which they credited with turning the Cardinals' fortunes around. No actual squirrels made an appearance during the World Series.
and Washington Nationals
) to never appear in the World Series. However, that season, the Rangers won their first postseason series and made their first appearance in the World Series, losing to the San Francisco Giants
in five games.
During the offseason, Chuck Greenberg, who along with Nolan Ryan
purchased the Rangers from Tom Hicks
during the 2010 season, sold his interest in the team to Ryan, making Ryan the principal owner of the Rangers. Notable player departures during the offseason included pitcher Cliff Lee
and outfielder/designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero
, both to free agency
, and catcher Bengie Molina
, who retired. Notable free agent additions during the offseason included pitchers Yoshinori Tateyama
and Brandon Webb
, catcher Yorvit Torrealba
, and third baseman Adrián Beltré
. In January, as part of a three-way trade with the Toronto Blue Jays
and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
, the Rangers acquired catcher Mike Napoli
in exchange for pitcher Frank Francisco
. During the season, the Rangers acquired pitcher Koji Uehara
from the Baltimore Orioles
in exchange for infielder Chris Davis
, and Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres
in exchange for two minor-league pitchers. Pitcher Arthur Rhodes
was released and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals days later; as a result, Rhodes would have been entitled to receive a World Series ring regardless of which team won.
With the exception of one day in late April and a brief stretch in early May, the Rangers led the American League West
standings for most of the season. They finished the season with a franchise record 96–66 win-loss record ( winning percentage) and won their second consecutive and fifth overall division title, 10 games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They also set a franchise record for home attendance at 2,946,949. Texas would also earn the most shutouts in the American League. All five members of the opening day starting rotation would stay in the rotation for the entire year. C. J. Wilson
tied for the league lead in starts with 34 while Derek Holland
for second in shutouts with four, tied for first in the American League, and each pitcher would have at least 13 wins. The offense would also have another good year with three players getting 30-plus home runs for the first time in franchise history, and Ian Kinsler
completed his second 30–30 season.
The Rangers then defeated the Tampa Bay Rays
, three games to one, in the American League Division Series
before beating the Detroit Tigers
, four games to two, in the American League Championship Series
.
The Rangers lost home-field advantage in the World Series due to the AL team, managed by Rangers manager Ron Washington
, losing the 2011 All-Star Game
, when the Ranger ace C. J. Wilson surrendered the game-winning three-run homer to Prince Fielder
.
four games to one to win their National League-leading 10th World Series title. This was manager Tony La Russa
's sixth World Series appearance as manager and his third such appearance with the Cardinals. The Cardinals' last postseason appearance was in 2009
, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers
in the National League Division Series
. They finished the 2010 season
with a record of 86–76 , finishing in second place in the National League Central
standings, five games behind
the Cincinnati Reds
.
During the 2010 offseason, the team signed new contracts with manager
Tony La Russa and picked up all-star slugger Albert Pujols
' club option
. Notable offseason departures included shortstop
Brendan Ryan
(traded to the Seattle Mariners
) and relief pitcher Blake Hawksworth
(traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers
). Additionally, during the offseason the team announced that ace
pitcher Adam Wainwright
would miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery
. Notable offseason additions included shortstop Ryan Theriot
, outfielder Lance Berkman
, catcher Gerald Laird
, and infielder Nick Punto
. After a number of blown saves, in late April the Cardinals removed pitcher Ryan Franklin
from the closer
role, and released him on June 29. On July 27, the Cardinals sent outfielder Colby Rasmus
and pitchers Trever Miller
, Brian Tallet
, and P. J. Walters
to the Toronto Blue Jays
in exchange for pitchers Edwin Jackson
, Marc Rzepczynski
, and Octavio Dotel
, and outfielder Corey Patterson
. They then acquired Rafael Furcal
from the Dodgers in exchange for Alex Castellanos, a minor-league outfielder. On August 11, the Cardinals signed free agent pitcher Arthur Rhodes
, who had been released by the Texas Rangers days earlier.
The Cardinals spent much of the early part of the 2011 season in first place in the NL Central standings, but dropped to second place for good on July 27. On August 25, the team trailed the Atlanta Braves
in the NL Wild Card
standings by games. The Cardinals amassed a 21–9 record from August 26 to September 27, while the Braves were 10–19 over that same interval. Meanwhile, on September 23, the Milwaukee Brewers
clinched the NL Central division title. On September 28, with the Cardinals and Braves tied atop the Wild Card standings on the last day of the regular season, the Cardinals routed the Houston Astros
8–0, while the Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies
4–3 in 13 innings, securing the Cardinals' second wild card postseason berth in franchise history. St. Louis finished with a record of 90–72, six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central but one game ahead of the Braves in the Wild Card. They defeated the Phillies in the National League Division Series
three games to two, and then defeated the Brewers in the National League Championship Series
four games to two.
) at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, Missouri
Aces were on the mound for Game 1 as C. J. Wilson
faced Chris Carpenter
. Both starters kept the game scoreless through the first three innings. In the fourth, Albert Pujols
was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. After a double by Matt Holliday
, Lance Berkman
hit a single to drive both runners in. The lead wouldn't last long. Mike Napoli
hit a two-run home run to tie the game in the very next inning. David Freese
doubled in the sixth with one out, and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Yadier Molina
struck out, and Nick Punto
walked, Allen Craig
entered the game, pinch-hitting for Carpenter. Alexi Ogando
relieved Wilson, and tried to finish off the inning. Craig hit a 1–2 pitch down the right field line that was just out of reach of a sliding Nelson Cruz. Freese scored to give St. Louis the lead. In the seventh, the Cardinals ran into trouble as Cruz singled and Napoli walked to put two on with one out. Marc Rzepczynski
came on to face pinch-hitter Craig Gentry
and struck him out. Pinch-hitter Esteban Germán
was the next batter. Rzepczynski struck him out as well. In the ninth, closer Jason Motte pitched an easy 1–2–3 inning to give St. Louis the win. Controversy surrounded the inning, as Adrián Beltré
was the victim of a blown call. Beltré grounded a ball to third, and Freese threw the ball to first for the out, but replays showed he fouled the ball off his foot.
) at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, Missouri
Game 2 saw a pitchers' duel between Jaime García
and Colby Lewis
. Both starters
kept the game scoreless through the first six innings. A pair of excellent defensive plays by Elvis Andrus
stopped a couple of Cardinals
rallies. In the seventh, David Freese
again started a rally for St. Louis, much like in Game 1. He singled
with one out, and moved to third on a single by Nick Punto
with two outs. Allen Craig
pinch-hit for García to face Alexi Ogando
, setting up almost the same exact situation from the previous night. Again, Craig beat Ogando with a single to right field to drive in Freese. Jason Motte
was brought in to save the game in the ninth. Ian Kinsler
led off with a bloop single, and stole
second with Andrus batting. Andrus singled into center field, and moved to second on the throw home, which got by Albert Pujols
for an error
. With runners on second and third, and none out, Tony La Russa
switched in Arthur Rhodes
for Motte. Consecutive sacrifice flies
from Josh Hamilton and Michael Young
gave Texas the lead. Neftalí Feliz came on in the ninth, and allowed a leadoff walk
to Yadier Molina
, but retired the next three batters in order to end the game and tie the Series
at one game apiece.
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
After a total of just eight runs scored in the first two games in St. Louis, the offense of the two lineups
scored a combined 23 runs
on a historic night in Arlington in which Albert Pujols
had what was described as "the greatest individual hitting
performance in World Series history".
Allen Craig
hit a home run
in the first to put the Cardinals up 1–0. They scored four more runs in the fourth after a controversial call at first base by umpire Ron Kulpa
and a run-producing error
by Mike Napoli
, but the Rangers came back in the bottom frame: Michael Young and Nelson Cruz hit home runs to make it 5–3. But in the next inning the Cardinals added three more runs including what became the game-winning two-RBI
double
by Yadier Molina
making the score 8–3. The Rangers answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a two-run game again. Albert Pujols
, who had been hitless through the first two games, then hit a 423 ft (128.9 m) home run off Alexi Ogando
in the sixth inning to drive in three runs. He homered two more times later and drove in six runs in total on the night. The Cardinals went on to win the game by a score of 16–7, leading the Series by 2–1.
Albert Pujols joined Babe Ruth
(1926, 1928) and Reggie Jackson
(1977) as the only players in baseball history to hit three home runs in a World Series game. Pujols was 5-for-6 with two singles
, three HRs, four runs scored, and six RBIs
. Yadier Molina added two doubles, driving in four runs. David Freese
continued his postseason
13-game hitting streak getting two hits (one double), driving in two runs. Pujols became the first player in World Series history to get hits in four consecutive innings: fourth (single), fifth (single), sixth (HR, three RBIs), and seventh (HR, two RBIs). He tied records for most HRs (3), most hits (5), and most RBIs (6) in a World Series game, and established a new record with 14 total bases.
The 16 runs scored by the Cardinals were the most runs scored in a World Series game since 2002, when the San Francisco Giants
scored 16 against the Anaheim Angels
. The current record is 18 by the New York Yankees
against the New York Giants
in 1936.
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
After a high scoring affair the night before, Derek Holland
quieted the Cardinals' bats as he pitched innings of two-hit baseball. Josh Hamilton's first-inning RBI
double
put the Rangers in front for only the second time in the Series. A three-run home run by Mike Napoli
provided Holland a comfortable 4–0 lead. The Cardinals managed a small rally in the ninth, but were unable to score against closer Neftalí Feliz.
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
Game 1 starters
C. J. Wilson
and Chris Carpenter
faced off again. Wilson walked
two batter
s, Matt Holliday
and Lance Berkman
, in the second inning and both came in to score, aided in part by an error
by David Murphy. However, despite the Rangers walking nine batters in the game (including Albert Pujols
three times intentionally
), the Cardinals had not scored again, leaving twelve runners on base
. Mitch Moreland
hit a solo home run in the third, and Adrián Beltré
also hit one in the sixth, to tie the score at 2–2.
The Rangers' half of the eighth featured a series of bullpen
mix-ups by the Cardinals, leaving Tony La Russa
without closer Jason Motte
in a crucial situation. After Michael Young led off the inning with a double
, La Russa sent both Motte (a right-hander) and left-handed reliever
Marc Rzepczynski
to begin warmups. However, Cardinals bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist
later stated that he only heard Rzepczynski's name called. When La Russa saw that Motte was not warming up, he made a second call to the bullpen, but this time Lilliquist thought he heard La Russa called for reliever Lance Lynn
, who was supposedly unavailable for the game due to throwing 47 pitches in Game 3.
Dotel intentionally walked Nelson Cruz, whereupon La Russa summoned Rzepczynski to face the left-handed hitting Murphy. Usually, the Rangers would counter with a right-handed pinch-hitter, such as Craig Gentry
or Yorvit Torrealba
. However, Murphy stayed in the game, and hit a grounder off Rzepczynski, loading the bases
. With Motte not yet available (La Russa thought he was warming up, but he was not yet ready), La Russa was forced to match Rzepczynski against the right-handed hitting Mike Napoli
, who hit a two-run
double scoring Young and Cruz. After a Moreland strikeout
, La Russa summoned for Motte from the bullpen, only to be surprised to see Lynn coming out (it was then when he learned of the mix-ups). Lynn then was asked to intentionally walk Ian Kinsler
, making him only the third pitcher in World Series history to make a relief appearance solely to serve an intentional walk.
Neftalí Feliz came in to save the game in the ninth, his second save of the Series.
) at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, Missouri
Despite commiting three errors
(to the Rangers' two), the Cardinals came back twice from two-run
deficits in the ninth and tenth innings, both times down to their last strike. David Freese
tied the game at 7–7 with a two-out
, two-strike, two-RBI
triple
in the bottom of the ninth against Rangers closer
Neftalí Feliz. However, in the top of the 10th, the Rangers regained the lead after Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer
. In the bottom half of the inning, Ryan Theriot
's RBI groundout followed by Lance Berkman
's RBI single
brought in Jon Jay
with the tying run. After holding the Rangers scoreless in the top of the 11th, the Cardinals won the game with David Freese's solo walk-off home run
shot to dead center field. The win forced a Game 7 for the first time since . Of the last 13 Major League teams that won Game 6 at home to force a Game 7 in the postseason, all but one went on to win Game 7.
Freese's walk-off home run was only the fourth in a Game 6 in World Series history.
The Cardinals set two milestones in their Game 6 win—the first team to come back twice from deficits in both the 9th and 10th innings, and the first team to score in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th innings. On Mike & Mike in the Morning the next day, ESPN
senior baseball analyst Buster Olney
called it the greatest game in the history of baseball.
Game 6 was originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, but was postponed due to heavy rain in the forecast. Although rain was only falling fairly lightly in St. Louis when this decision was made, MLB officials did not want a repeat of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, when that contest was suspended after the top of the sixth inning and then resumed two days later.
) at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, Missouri
Before Game 7, the Cardinals replaced Matt Holliday
, who sprained his wrist in Game 6, on their roster with Adron Chambers
.
Josh Hamilton and Michael Young had RBI doubles in the first inning against Chris Carpenter, who became the first pitcher in a decade to make three starts in one Series. David Freese had a game-tying two-run double in the bottom of the first, breaking the post-season RBI record, and Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third. Craig even robbed a home run from Nelson Cruz in the sixth. St. Louis added two runs off the Texas bullpen in the fifth inning without getting a hit. Yadier Molina walked with the bases loaded and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch, forcing in another run to make it 5–2. In the seventh inning, Lance Berkman scored on a Molina single to make it 6–2.
Chris Carpenter was relieved after pitching six innings and was credited with the win. The Cardinals used four relievers
to hold Texas scoreless over the final three innings. The final out was recorded when David Murphy flied out to Cardinal left fielder Allen Craig
as Busch Stadium went into a frenzy.
David Freese
became the sixth player in history to earn a League Championship Series
and World Series MVP award in the same postseason.
The Rangers set a Series record by issuing 41 walks, breaking the previous record held by the Florida Marlins
when winning the 1997 World Series
after issuing 40.
(N.L.) over Texas Rangers
(A.L.)
called play-by-play on his 14th World Series for the network, dating back to , while color analyst
Tim McCarver
handled his 22nd World Series since . Ken Rosenthal
served as field reporter for the games, while Chris Rose
hosted the pregame and postgame coverage with analysts A. J. Pierzynski
and Eric Karros.
MLB International
syndicated television coverage of the Series (with Gary Thorne
and Rick Sutcliffe announcing) to viewers outside the United States.
for the seven games was 10.0, with Fox's 14.7 rating for Game 7 being the network's highest for a World Series telecast since Game 4 of the 2004 World Series.
and analysts Orel Hershiser
and Bobby Valentine
.
Locally, the two teams' flagship stations broadcast the Series with their respective announcing crews. The Rangers' broadcasts aired on KESN-FM (with Eric Nadel
and Steve Busby
announcing), while the Cardinals' broadcasts aired on KMOX (with Mike Shannon
and John Rooney
announcing). Due to contractual obligations, the non-flagship stations on the teams' radio networks carried the ESPN Radio broadcasts of the games, although the local broadcasts were available on XM Satellite Radio
and to Gameday Audio subscribers at MLB.com
.
In the United Kingdom, Simon Brotherton
and Josh Chetwynd
called the games for BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
, in which the New York Mets rallied from a 5–3 deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 to win the game and, later, the decisive Game 7.
This was the third and final World Series title for Cardinals manager Tony La Russa
, who announced his retirement on October 31, 2011, after 33 seasons as a major league manager.
The Rangers became the first team to lose back-to-back World Series since the Atlanta Braves
in and .
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's championship series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. The best-of-seven playoff was played between the American League champion
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
Texas Rangers
2011 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers’ 2011 season was the 51st season in the overall history of the franchise and the 40th since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. Going into the season they were the defending American League champions....
and the National League champion
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
St. Louis Cardinals
2011 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2011 season was the 130th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 120th season in the National League, and the sixth season at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals began their season at home against the San Diego Padres on March 31, coming off a 86-76 season and...
, with the Cardinals defeating the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship.
In the cliff-hanging Game 6, the Cardinals twice erased two-run deficits when the Rangers were one strike away from their first championship, and won it in 11 innings, 10–9. It was also well known for the blowout Game 3, where Cardinals player Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
hit three home runs, matching a feat accomplished only by Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
and Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
.
The Series began on October 19, earlier than the previous season so that no games would be played in November. The Cardinals enjoyed home-field advantage for the series because the National League won the 2011 All-Star Game
2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 82nd in-season exhibition game between the All-Stars of the National League and the American League ; the leagues composing Major League Baseball. The event was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the...
5–1 on July 12. The 2011 World Series was the first seven-game World Series since .
Background
The Rangers appeared in their second consecutive World Series; they lost the 2010 Series2010 World Series
The 2010 World Series was the 106th occurrence of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff, played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion San Francisco Giants, began on Wednesday, , and ended on Monday, , with the Giants...
to the San Francisco Giants
2011 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants are an American baseball team. Their 2011 season marked their 129th year in Major League Baseball, and their fifty-fourth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season. They opened the 2011 season as the defending World Series champions on...
in five games. They were the first American League team to play in consecutive World Series since the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
did it from to . They earned their postseason berth by winning the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
division, and defeated the Tampa Bay Rays
2011 Tampa Bay Rays season
The Tampa Bay Rays 2011 season was the team's 14th season of baseball. Despite starting the season 0-6 and trailing the Boston Red Sox by 9 games as late in the season as September 1, the Rays captured the AL Wild Card and made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history...
in the American League Division Series
2011 American League Division Series
The 2011 American League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played...
and the Detroit Tigers
2011 Detroit Tigers season
The 2011 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 111th season. The season began on March 31 at New York against the Yankees, and the home opener was on April 8 against the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers honored the late Sparky Anderson during the season...
in the American League Championship Series
2011 American League Championship Series
The 2011 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 American League Division Series, the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, against each other for the American League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World...
to earn their World Series berth.
The Cardinals appeared in their 18th World Series, and third in eight years. They lost to the Boston Red Sox
2004 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox 2004 season was the 103rd Major League Baseball season for the Boston Red Sox franchise. Managed under Terry Francona, the team finished with a 98–64 record...
in , but won in against the Detroit Tigers
2006 Detroit Tigers season
The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Pennant. They represented the AL in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901.- Regular season :...
. The Cardinals earned their postseason berth by winning the National League Wild Card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
on the last day of the regular season, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies
2011 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies 2011 season was the 129th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their fifth consecutive National League East championship, and also finished with the best record in baseball for the second straight year. The Phillies, at 3-1 odds, were the heavy-favorite...
in the National League Division Series
2011 National League Division Series
The 2011 National League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 National League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played...
and the Milwaukee Brewers
2011 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers' 2011 season was their 42nd season for the franchise in Milwaukee, the 14th in the National League, and 43rd overall. The Brewers posted a franchise-best record of 96-66, winning their first-ever National League Central Division title...
in the National League Championship Series
2011 National League Championship Series
The 2011 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, against each other for the National League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the...
to earn their World Series berth.
This Series was only the second time the Rangers and the Cardinals played each other; they met in regular-season interleague play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
in 2004, where the Cardinals won two games of a three-game series in Texas. This was the first World Series assignment for umpires Greg Gibson
Greg Gibson
Gregory Allan Gibson is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League from 1997 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. Throughout his career, he has worn the number 53 on his uniform...
and Ron Kulpa
Ron Kulpa
Ronald Clarence Kulpa is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.Prior to pursuing professional umpiring, Kulpa attended Missouri Baptist College. His professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998...
. Each of the other umpires had previously worked one World Series.
The Cardinals were supported by fans brandishing Rally Squirrel
Rally Squirrel
Rally Squirrel is the name given to an American gray squirrel which appeared on the field and ran across home plate at Busch Stadium during a 2011 National League Division Series Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals on October 5, 2011...
memorabilia to celebrate their new impromptu mascot acquired during the playoff run which they credited with turning the Cardinals' fortunes around. No actual squirrels made an appearance during the World Series.
Texas Rangers
This was the Rangers' second appearance in the World Series. Heading into 2010, the Rangers' 50th season as a franchise (counting its time as the Washington Senators), the team was the only one in Major League Baseball to never win a postseason series, and was one of three teams (along with the Seattle MarinersSeattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
and Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
) to never appear in the World Series. However, that season, the Rangers won their first postseason series and made their first appearance in the World Series, losing to the San Francisco Giants
2010 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants are an American Major League Baseball team. Their 2010 season marked their 128th year in Major League Baseball, and their fifty-third year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season...
in five games.
During the offseason, Chuck Greenberg, who along with Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
purchased the Rangers from Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
during the 2010 season, sold his interest in the team to Ryan, making Ryan the principal owner of the Rangers. Notable player departures during the offseason included pitcher Cliff Lee
Cliff Lee
Clifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee has also played for the Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers....
and outfielder/designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero
Vladimir Guerrero
Vladimir Alvino Guerrero is a free agent Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter.In , he was voted the American League MVP...
, both to free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, and catcher Bengie Molina
Bengie Molina
Benjamin José "Bengie" Molina , nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball catcher.He is the older brother of major league catchers José Molina and Yadier Molina....
, who retired. Notable free agent additions during the offseason included pitchers Yoshinori Tateyama
Yoshinori Tateyama
is a Japanese Major League Baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers.As a sidearm pitcher Tateyama combines a fastball that averages 87 mph with a curveball, and he also pitches a screwball against lefties. While his strikeout totals were average, he got hitters out with his control .On November...
and Brandon Webb
Brandon Webb
Brandon Tyler Webb is a Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the 2006 National League Cy Young Award winner.-High school:Webb attended Paul G...
, catcher Yorvit Torrealba
Yorvit Torrealba
Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers. He previously played for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. He bats and throws right-handed.-San Francisco Giants:...
, and third baseman Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers.The youngest player in the National League when he made his major league debut, he has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , the Seattle Mariners , the Boston Red Sox , and the Texas Rangers . He bats and...
. In January, as part of a three-way trade with the Toronto Blue Jays
2011 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was the 35th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the 22nd full season of play at the Rogers Centre. It was also the first season with John Farrell as the team's manager...
and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2011 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim season
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim' 2011 season was the franchise's 51st season and 46th in Anaheim. The Angels began the season following a disappointing 2010 campaign where they missed the postseason for the first time since 2006, after winning the American League West three times in a row from...
, the Rangers acquired catcher Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
in exchange for pitcher Frank Francisco
Frank Francisco
Franklin Thomas Francisco is a relief pitcher.-Baseball career:Francisco was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox. He was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, , along with Byeong Hak An in exchange for reliever Bob Howry...
. During the season, the Rangers acquired pitcher Koji Uehara
Koji Uehara
is a Major League Baseball Japanese right-handed relief pitcher. He is currently a relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers.Uehara throws a high-80s four-seam fastball and a solid forkball as his primary pitches...
from the Baltimore Orioles
2011 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles' 2011 season was the 111th season in franchise history, and the 58th in Baltimore.-Offseason:The 2010-2011 offseason has been notable for the Orioles, featuring a complete makeover of their infield, with only Brian Roberts expected to reprise his starting role...
in exchange for infielder Chris Davis
Chris Davis (baseball)
Christopher Lyn Davis is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles.-Professional career:...
, and Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres
2011 San Diego Padres season
The San Diego Padres' 2011 season was their 43rd season in MLB.-2010-2011 Offseason:Adrian Gonzalez would have been in the last year of his contract in 2011, but the Padres were not going to meet Gonzalez’s open market value especially with Jeff Moorad’s purchase of the Padres from John Moores not...
in exchange for two minor-league pitchers. Pitcher Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. is a Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher.-Career:Rhodes played high school baseball at La Vega High School in Waco, Texas. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.Rhodes made his MLB debut with the Orioles...
was released and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals days later; as a result, Rhodes would have been entitled to receive a World Series ring regardless of which team won.
With the exception of one day in late April and a brief stretch in early May, the Rangers led the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
standings for most of the season. They finished the season with a franchise record 96–66 win-loss record ( winning percentage) and won their second consecutive and fifth overall division title, 10 games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They also set a franchise record for home attendance at 2,946,949. Texas would also earn the most shutouts in the American League. All five members of the opening day starting rotation would stay in the rotation for the entire year. C. J. Wilson
C. J. Wilson
Christopher John "C. J." Wilson is an American professional baseball pitcher. He is a free agent after playing with the Texas Rangers from 2005-2011.-College:...
tied for the league lead in starts with 34 while Derek Holland
Derek Holland
Derek Holland is a figure on the European far-right noted for his Catholic Integralism.Holland was brought up in Huntingdon and was already trying to recruit new members to the National Front while a student at Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology...
for second in shutouts with four, tied for first in the American League, and each pitcher would have at least 13 wins. The offense would also have another good year with three players getting 30-plus home runs for the first time in franchise history, and Ian Kinsler
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...
completed his second 30–30 season.
The Rangers then defeated the Tampa Bay Rays
2011 Tampa Bay Rays season
The Tampa Bay Rays 2011 season was the team's 14th season of baseball. Despite starting the season 0-6 and trailing the Boston Red Sox by 9 games as late in the season as September 1, the Rays captured the AL Wild Card and made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history...
, three games to one, in the American League Division Series
2011 American League Division Series
The 2011 American League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played...
before beating the Detroit Tigers
2011 Detroit Tigers season
The 2011 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 111th season. The season began on March 31 at New York against the Yankees, and the home opener was on April 8 against the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers honored the late Sparky Anderson during the season...
, four games to two, in the American League Championship Series
2011 American League Championship Series
The 2011 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 American League Division Series, the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, against each other for the American League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World...
.
The Rangers lost home-field advantage in the World Series due to the AL team, managed by Rangers manager Ron Washington
Ron Washington
Ronald Washington is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and the current manager of the Texas Rangers. Prior to managing the Rangers, Washington coached in the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics organizations.-Playing career:Washington was signed by the Kansas City Royals on July 17, 1970...
, losing the 2011 All-Star Game
2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 82nd in-season exhibition game between the All-Stars of the National League and the American League ; the leagues composing Major League Baseball. The event was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the...
, when the Ranger ace C. J. Wilson surrendered the game-winning three-run homer to Prince Fielder
Prince Fielder
Prince Semien Fielder is a Major League Baseball free agent who plays first base. He is currently listed at 5' 11" and . He was selected by the Brewers in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft out of Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida.He is the son of former Detroit...
.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals made their first World Series appearance since , when they defeated the Detroit Tigers2006 Detroit Tigers season
The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Pennant. They represented the AL in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901.- Regular season :...
four games to one to win their National League-leading 10th World Series title. This was manager Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
's sixth World Series appearance as manager and his third such appearance with the Cardinals. The Cardinals' last postseason appearance was in 2009
2009 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2009 season was the 128th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri and the 118th season in the National League. The Cardinals, coming off a 86-76 season and fourth place in the NL Central, got off to a strong start in April before a team-wide offensive breakdown...
, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers
2009 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers season sees the team defend their National League West title while earning the best record in the National League, and marks the fiftieth anniversary of their 1959 World Series Championship...
in the National League Division Series
2009 National League Division Series
The National League Division Series consisted of two concurrent best-of-five game series that determined the participating teams in the 2009 National League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a "wild card" team played in the two series. The NLDS began on Wednesday, October 7 and...
. They finished the 2010 season
2010 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2010 season was the 129th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri and the 119th season in the National League. The Cardinals began their season on the road against the Cincinnati Reds on April 5. St...
with a record of 86–76 , finishing in second place in the National League Central
National League Central
The National League Central Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the Western Division and three teams from the Eastern Division of the National League...
standings, five games behind
Games behind
In sports, the phrase games behind or games back , is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division...
the Cincinnati Reds
2010 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds' 2010 season was the 121st season for the franchise in Major League Baseball. The Reds began their season at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5, losing 6 to 11. Cincinnati was coming off a 78-84 season and fourth place in the NL Central. The Reds were managed by...
.
During the 2010 offseason, the team signed new contracts with manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Tony La Russa and picked up all-star slugger Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
' club option
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
. Notable offseason departures included shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Brendan Ryan
Brendan Ryan (baseball)
Brendan Wood Ryan is an American Major League Baseball shortstop for the Seattle Mariners. While he has typically fielded at shortstop in his professional career, Ryan has been known to play at second and third base and has dabbled with pitching.-Early and personal life:Ryan was born in Los...
(traded to the Seattle Mariners
2011 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners season was the 35th season in franchise history. Their last playoff appearance was Ten Years ago.-Coaching changes:Daren Brown, the Seattle Mariners interim manager during the 2010 season, stated that he had interest in returning as the full-time manager in 2011...
) and relief pitcher Blake Hawksworth
Blake Hawksworth
Blake Edward Hawksworth is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 6' 3" and weighs 195 pounds.-Career:...
(traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers
2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season
In the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers season, the team was attempting to rebound from its fourth-place National League West finish in 2010. This was the franchise's 54th season in Southern California, since moving from Brooklyn after the 1957 season...
). Additionally, during the offseason the team announced that ace
Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher of any team and nearly always the first pitcher in his starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace usually always starts on Opening Day...
pitcher Adam Wainwright
Adam Wainwright
Adam Parrish Wainwright is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted 29th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 amateur draft. He made his major league debut for the St...
would miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery, known in medical practice as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a surgical procedure in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body...
. Notable offseason additions included shortstop Ryan Theriot
Ryan Theriot
Ryan Stewart Theriot is a Major League Baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.Theriot is the son of Randy and Mary Theriot, and has an older brother Wes and younger brother Austin. Both his father and older brother played baseball at Broadmoor High School.Theriot graduated from Broadmoor...
, outfielder Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....
, catcher Gerald Laird
Gerald Laird
Gerald Lee Laird III is an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers. He graduated La Quinta High School in 1998, and played college baseball at Cypress College...
, and infielder Nick Punto
Nick Punto
Nicholas Paul Punto is a Major League Baseball utility player. He has played second base, third base, shortstop, and center field. Punto is a switch hitter and throws right-handed....
. After a number of blown saves, in late April the Cardinals removed pitcher Ryan Franklin
Ryan Franklin
Ryan Ray Franklin is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals.-Early life:...
from the closer
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
role, and released him on June 29. On July 27, the Cardinals sent outfielder Colby Rasmus
Colby Rasmus
Colby Ryan Rasmus is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball.-Early years:...
and pitchers Trever Miller
Trever Miller
Trever Douglas Miller is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.-High school:...
, Brian Tallet
Brian Tallet
Brian Curtis Tallet is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He stands 6' 6" in height. Brian Tallet pitched for the LSU Tigers and won a national championship in 2000....
, and P. J. Walters
P. J. Walters
Phillip DeWayne "P. J." Walters is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.-Personal life:Walters was born March 12, 1985, in Dothan, Alabama. He is married to Brittney....
to the Toronto Blue Jays
2011 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was the 35th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the 22nd full season of play at the Rogers Centre. It was also the first season with John Farrell as the team's manager...
in exchange for pitchers Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher.-Early life:Jackson's father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., a military cook, was stationed in Germany at the time of his birth. Jackson is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany...
, Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Walter Rzepczynski is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.The Toronto Blue Jays blogosphere gave Rzepczynski the nickname "Scrabble".-Amateur career:...
, and Octavio Dotel
Octavio Dotel
Octavio Eduardo Dotel is a Domincan professional baseball pitcher who is currently a Free Agent....
, and outfielder Corey Patterson
Corey Patterson
Donald Corey Patterson is an American professional baseball free agent outfielder in Major League Baseball. He is the older brother of outfielder Eric Patterson.-Amateur career:...
. They then acquired Rafael Furcal
Rafael Furcal
Rafael Antonio Furcal , is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...
from the Dodgers in exchange for Alex Castellanos, a minor-league outfielder. On August 11, the Cardinals signed free agent pitcher Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. is a Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher.-Career:Rhodes played high school baseball at La Vega High School in Waco, Texas. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.Rhodes made his MLB debut with the Orioles...
, who had been released by the Texas Rangers days earlier.
The Cardinals spent much of the early part of the 2011 season in first place in the NL Central standings, but dropped to second place for good on July 27. On August 25, the team trailed the Atlanta Braves
2011 Atlanta Braves season
The 2011 Atlanta Braves season was the Braves' 46th season in Atlanta, and the 136th of the franchise. For the first time since the 1990 season, Bobby Cox did not manage the club, having retired following the 2010 season. He was succeeded by Fredi González, the former third-base coach for the...
in the NL Wild Card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
standings by games. The Cardinals amassed a 21–9 record from August 26 to September 27, while the Braves were 10–19 over that same interval. Meanwhile, on September 23, the Milwaukee Brewers
2011 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers' 2011 season was their 42nd season for the franchise in Milwaukee, the 14th in the National League, and 43rd overall. The Brewers posted a franchise-best record of 96-66, winning their first-ever National League Central Division title...
clinched the NL Central division title. On September 28, with the Cardinals and Braves tied atop the Wild Card standings on the last day of the regular season, the Cardinals routed the Houston Astros
2011 Houston Astros season
The Houston Astros' 2011 season was the 50th season for the franchise in the National League in Houston, their 47th as the Astros and their 12th season at Minute Maid Park....
8–0, while the Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies
2011 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies 2011 season was the 129th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their fifth consecutive National League East championship, and also finished with the best record in baseball for the second straight year. The Phillies, at 3-1 odds, were the heavy-favorite...
4–3 in 13 innings, securing the Cardinals' second wild card postseason berth in franchise history. St. Louis finished with a record of 90–72, six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central but one game ahead of the Braves in the Wild Card. They defeated the Phillies in the National League Division Series
2011 National League Division Series
The 2011 National League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 National League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played...
three games to two, and then defeated the Brewers in the National League Championship Series
2011 National League Championship Series
The 2011 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, against each other for the National League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the...
four games to two.
Summary
†: Postponed from October 26 due to rainGame 1
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Aces were on the mound for Game 1 as C. J. Wilson
C. J. Wilson
Christopher John "C. J." Wilson is an American professional baseball pitcher. He is a free agent after playing with the Texas Rangers from 2005-2011.-College:...
faced Chris Carpenter
Chris Carpenter
Christopher John Carpenter is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2003, and is currently signed with the team until the 2011 season, with a club option for 2012.Carpenter was 22 years old and a highly-regarded prospect when he broke into the...
. Both starters kept the game scoreless through the first three innings. In the fourth, Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. After a double by Matt Holliday
Matt Holliday
Matthew Thomas Holliday , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Holliday was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.Holliday is a five-time All-Star and Silver Slugger...
, Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....
hit a single to drive both runners in. The lead wouldn't last long. Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
hit a two-run home run to tie the game in the very next inning. David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
doubled in the sixth with one out, and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Yadier Molina
Yadier Molina
Yadier Benjamin Molina known affectionately by fans as "Yadi", is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.Molina was the third catcher to play in two World Series before age 25, along with Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. He is considered one of the best defensive...
struck out, and Nick Punto
Nick Punto
Nicholas Paul Punto is a Major League Baseball utility player. He has played second base, third base, shortstop, and center field. Punto is a switch hitter and throws right-handed....
walked, Allen Craig
Allen Craig
Allen Thomas Craig is a Major League Baseball utility player for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Amateur career:...
entered the game, pinch-hitting for Carpenter. Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.-Oakland Athletics:Ogando was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and originally signed with the Oakland Athletics as an outfielder in...
relieved Wilson, and tried to finish off the inning. Craig hit a 1–2 pitch down the right field line that was just out of reach of a sliding Nelson Cruz. Freese scored to give St. Louis the lead. In the seventh, the Cardinals ran into trouble as Cruz singled and Napoli walked to put two on with one out. Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Walter Rzepczynski is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.The Toronto Blue Jays blogosphere gave Rzepczynski the nickname "Scrabble".-Amateur career:...
came on to face pinch-hitter Craig Gentry
Craig Gentry
Craig Alan Gentry is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers.-Baseball career:...
and struck him out. Pinch-hitter Esteban Germán
Esteban German
Esteban Germán Guridi is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. Germán has played for the Kansas City Royals, the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers.-Major league baseball career :...
was the next batter. Rzepczynski struck him out as well. In the ninth, closer Jason Motte pitched an easy 1–2–3 inning to give St. Louis the win. Controversy surrounded the inning, as Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers.The youngest player in the National League when he made his major league debut, he has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , the Seattle Mariners , the Boston Red Sox , and the Texas Rangers . He bats and...
was the victim of a blown call. Beltré grounded a ball to third, and Freese threw the ball to first for the out, but replays showed he fouled the ball off his foot.
Game 2
Thursday, October 20, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Game 2 saw a pitchers' duel between Jaime García
Jaime García
Jaime García Cruz was a Spanish horse rider who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1952 Summer Olympics....
and Colby Lewis
Colby Lewis
Colby Preston Lewis is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers.Lewis was originally a first-round draft choice of the Texas Rangers in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his major league debut in...
. Both starters
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
kept the game scoreless through the first six innings. A pair of excellent defensive plays by Elvis Andrus
Elvis Andrus
Elvis Augusto Andrus Torres is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the Texas Rangers.Entering , he was rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization...
stopped a couple of Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
rallies. In the seventh, David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
again started a rally for St. Louis, much like in Game 1. He singled
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
with one out, and moved to third on a single by Nick Punto
Nick Punto
Nicholas Paul Punto is a Major League Baseball utility player. He has played second base, third base, shortstop, and center field. Punto is a switch hitter and throws right-handed....
with two outs. Allen Craig
Allen Craig
Allen Thomas Craig is a Major League Baseball utility player for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Amateur career:...
pinch-hit for García to face Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.-Oakland Athletics:Ogando was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and originally signed with the Oakland Athletics as an outfielder in...
, setting up almost the same exact situation from the previous night. Again, Craig beat Ogando with a single to right field to drive in Freese. Jason Motte
Jason Motte
Jason Louis Motte is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Career:Motte graduated from Valley Central High School, Montgomery, N.Y., in 2000 where he was a catcher...
was brought in to save the game in the ninth. Ian Kinsler
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...
led off with a bloop single, and stole
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
second with Andrus batting. Andrus singled into center field, and moved to second on the throw home, which got by Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
for an error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
. With runners on second and third, and none out, Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
switched in Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Rhodes
Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. is a Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher.-Career:Rhodes played high school baseball at La Vega High School in Waco, Texas. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.Rhodes made his MLB debut with the Orioles...
for Motte. Consecutive sacrifice flies
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
from Josh Hamilton and Michael Young
Michael Young
Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington was a British sociologist, social activist and politician who coined the term "meritocracy"....
gave Texas the lead. Neftalí Feliz came on in the ninth, and allowed a leadoff walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
to Yadier Molina
Yadier Molina
Yadier Benjamin Molina known affectionately by fans as "Yadi", is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.Molina was the third catcher to play in two World Series before age 25, along with Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. He is considered one of the best defensive...
, but retired the next three batters in order to end the game and tie the Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
at one game apiece.
Game 3
Saturday, October 22, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
After a total of just eight runs scored in the first two games in St. Louis, the offense of the two lineups
Batting order (baseball)
The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
scored a combined 23 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
on a historic night in Arlington in which Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
had what was described as "the greatest individual hitting
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
performance in World Series history".
Allen Craig
Allen Craig
Allen Thomas Craig is a Major League Baseball utility player for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Amateur career:...
hit a home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
in the first to put the Cardinals up 1–0. They scored four more runs in the fourth after a controversial call at first base by umpire Ron Kulpa
Ron Kulpa
Ronald Clarence Kulpa is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.Prior to pursuing professional umpiring, Kulpa attended Missouri Baptist College. His professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998...
and a run-producing error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
by Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
, but the Rangers came back in the bottom frame: Michael Young and Nelson Cruz hit home runs to make it 5–3. But in the next inning the Cardinals added three more runs including what became the game-winning two-RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
by Yadier Molina
Yadier Molina
Yadier Benjamin Molina known affectionately by fans as "Yadi", is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.Molina was the third catcher to play in two World Series before age 25, along with Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. He is considered one of the best defensive...
making the score 8–3. The Rangers answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a two-run game again. Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
, who had been hitless through the first two games, then hit a 423 ft (128.9 m) home run off Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando
Alexi Ogando is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.-Oakland Athletics:Ogando was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and originally signed with the Oakland Athletics as an outfielder in...
in the sixth inning to drive in three runs. He homered two more times later and drove in six runs in total on the night. The Cardinals went on to win the game by a score of 16–7, leading the Series by 2–1.
Albert Pujols joined Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
(1926, 1928) and Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
(1977) as the only players in baseball history to hit three home runs in a World Series game. Pujols was 5-for-6 with two singles
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
, three HRs, four runs scored, and six RBIs
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
. Yadier Molina added two doubles, driving in four runs. David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
continued his postseason
Major League Baseball postseason
The Major League Baseball postseason is an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of Major League Baseball's regular season. It consists of one best-of-five series and two best-of-seven series...
13-game hitting streak getting two hits (one double), driving in two runs. Pujols became the first player in World Series history to get hits in four consecutive innings: fourth (single), fifth (single), sixth (HR, three RBIs), and seventh (HR, two RBIs). He tied records for most HRs (3), most hits (5), and most RBIs (6) in a World Series game, and established a new record with 14 total bases.
The 16 runs scored by the Cardinals were the most runs scored in a World Series game since 2002, when the San Francisco Giants
2002 San Francisco Giants season
The 2002 San Francisco Giants season was the 120th in franchise history, and the franchise's 45th season in San Francisco. The season ended with the Giants winning the National League pennant but losing to the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series....
scored 16 against the Anaheim Angels
2002 Anaheim Angels season
The Anaheim Angels 2002 season was the franchise's 42nd, and it ended with the team's first American League pennant and World Series championship....
. The current record is 18 by the New York Yankees
1936 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the team's 34th season in New York and its 36th season overall. The team finished with a record of 102-51, winning their 8th pennant, finishing 19.5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Joe McCarthy. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium...
against the New York Giants
1936 New York Giants (MLB) season
- Roster:- Starters by position:Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in-Other batters:Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg...
in 1936.
Game 4
Sunday, October 23, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
After a high scoring affair the night before, Derek Holland
Derek Holland
Derek Holland is a figure on the European far-right noted for his Catholic Integralism.Holland was brought up in Huntingdon and was already trying to recruit new members to the National Front while a student at Cambridgeshire College of Art and Technology...
quieted the Cardinals' bats as he pitched innings of two-hit baseball. Josh Hamilton's first-inning RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
put the Rangers in front for only the second time in the Series. A three-run home run by Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
provided Holland a comfortable 4–0 lead. The Cardinals managed a small rally in the ninth, but were unable to score against closer Neftalí Feliz.
Game 5
Monday, October 24, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
Game 1 starters
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
C. J. Wilson
C. J. Wilson
Christopher John "C. J." Wilson is an American professional baseball pitcher. He is a free agent after playing with the Texas Rangers from 2005-2011.-College:...
and Chris Carpenter
Chris Carpenter
Christopher John Carpenter is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2003, and is currently signed with the team until the 2011 season, with a club option for 2012.Carpenter was 22 years old and a highly-regarded prospect when he broke into the...
faced off again. Wilson walked
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
two batter
Batter
Batter may refer to:* Batter * Batter * Batter, * To hit or strike a person, as in committing the crime of battery* To hit or strike a person, as in committing the tort of battery, a common-law offense...
s, Matt Holliday
Matt Holliday
Matthew Thomas Holliday , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Holliday was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.Holliday is a five-time All-Star and Silver Slugger...
and Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....
, in the second inning and both came in to score, aided in part by an error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
by David Murphy. However, despite the Rangers walking nine batters in the game (including Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...
three times intentionally
Intentional base on balls
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by IBB, is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball...
), the Cardinals had not scored again, leaving twelve runners on base
Left on base
In baseball, a baserunner is said to be left on base when the half-inning ends, he has not scored, and he has not been put out. This is to include a batter-runner who has hit into a fielder's choice, causing another runner to be put out as the 3rd out...
. Mitch Moreland
Mitch Moreland
Mitchell Austin Moreland is a professional baseball first baseman and right fielder who plays for the Texas Rangers....
hit a solo home run in the third, and Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers.The youngest player in the National League when he made his major league debut, he has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , the Seattle Mariners , the Boston Red Sox , and the Texas Rangers . He bats and...
also hit one in the sixth, to tie the score at 2–2.
The Rangers' half of the eighth featured a series of bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
mix-ups by the Cardinals, leaving Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
without closer Jason Motte
Jason Motte
Jason Louis Motte is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Career:Motte graduated from Valley Central High School, Montgomery, N.Y., in 2000 where he was a catcher...
in a crucial situation. After Michael Young led off the inning with a double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, La Russa sent both Motte (a right-hander) and left-handed reliever
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Walter Rzepczynski is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.The Toronto Blue Jays blogosphere gave Rzepczynski the nickname "Scrabble".-Amateur career:...
to begin warmups. However, Cardinals bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist
Derek Lilliquist
Derek Jansen Lilliquist , is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1989-1996. He later became a minor league pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and was named their major league bullpen coach on November 2, 2010.-External links:...
later stated that he only heard Rzepczynski's name called. When La Russa saw that Motte was not warming up, he made a second call to the bullpen, but this time Lilliquist thought he heard La Russa called for reliever Lance Lynn
Lance Lynn
Michael Lance Lynn is an American professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals.-Early and personal life:...
, who was supposedly unavailable for the game due to throwing 47 pitches in Game 3.
Dotel intentionally walked Nelson Cruz, whereupon La Russa summoned Rzepczynski to face the left-handed hitting Murphy. Usually, the Rangers would counter with a right-handed pinch-hitter, such as Craig Gentry
Craig Gentry
Craig Alan Gentry is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers.-Baseball career:...
or Yorvit Torrealba
Yorvit Torrealba
Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers. He previously played for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. He bats and throws right-handed.-San Francisco Giants:...
. However, Murphy stayed in the game, and hit a grounder off Rzepczynski, loading the bases
Bases loaded
In the sport of baseball, the bases are loaded when there is a runner on each base . This presents a great scoring opportunity for the batting team, but it also presents an easy double play opportunity for the defense. Causing the bases to become loaded is called loading the bases...
. With Motte not yet available (La Russa thought he was warming up, but he was not yet ready), La Russa was forced to match Rzepczynski against the right-handed hitting Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli
Michael Anthony Napoli is a Major League Baseball catcher/first baseman with the Texas Rangers.-Early career:Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida...
, who hit a two-run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
double scoring Young and Cruz. After a Moreland strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
, La Russa summoned for Motte from the bullpen, only to be surprised to see Lynn coming out (it was then when he learned of the mix-ups). Lynn then was asked to intentionally walk Ian Kinsler
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...
, making him only the third pitcher in World Series history to make a relief appearance solely to serve an intentional walk.
Neftalí Feliz came in to save the game in the ninth, his second save of the Series.
Game 6
Thursday, October 27, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Despite commiting three errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
(to the Rangers' two), the Cardinals came back twice from two-run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
deficits in the ninth and tenth innings, both times down to their last strike. David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
tied the game at 7–7 with a two-out
Out (baseball)
In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive, or fielding, team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a player is called out, he is said to be retired...
, two-strike, two-RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
in the bottom of the ninth against Rangers closer
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
Neftalí Feliz. However, in the top of the 10th, the Rangers regained the lead after Josh Hamilton hit a two-run homer
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
. In the bottom half of the inning, Ryan Theriot
Ryan Theriot
Ryan Stewart Theriot is a Major League Baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.Theriot is the son of Randy and Mary Theriot, and has an older brother Wes and younger brother Austin. Both his father and older brother played baseball at Broadmoor High School.Theriot graduated from Broadmoor...
's RBI groundout followed by Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....
's RBI single
Single (baseball)
In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...
brought in Jon Jay
Jon Jay
Jonathan Henry Jay is an outfielder who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Baseball career:He was drafted by the Cardinals out of the University of Miami in the second round of the 2006 MLB Draft...
with the tying run. After holding the Rangers scoreless in the top of the 11th, the Cardinals won the game with David Freese's solo walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
shot to dead center field. The win forced a Game 7 for the first time since . Of the last 13 Major League teams that won Game 6 at home to force a Game 7 in the postseason, all but one went on to win Game 7.
Freese's walk-off home run was only the fourth in a Game 6 in World Series history.
The Cardinals set two milestones in their Game 6 win—the first team to come back twice from deficits in both the 9th and 10th innings, and the first team to score in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th innings. On Mike & Mike in the Morning the next day, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
senior baseball analyst Buster Olney
Buster Olney
Robert Stanbury "Buster" Olney III is a columnist for ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN.com, and covered the New York Giants and New York Yankees for The New York Times. He is also a regular analyst for the ESPN's Baseball Tonight...
called it the greatest game in the history of baseball.
Game 6 was originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, but was postponed due to heavy rain in the forecast. Although rain was only falling fairly lightly in St. Louis when this decision was made, MLB officials did not want a repeat of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, when that contest was suspended after the top of the sixth inning and then resumed two days later.
Game 7
Friday, October 28, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) at Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Before Game 7, the Cardinals replaced Matt Holliday
Matt Holliday
Matthew Thomas Holliday , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Holliday was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.Holliday is a five-time All-Star and Silver Slugger...
, who sprained his wrist in Game 6, on their roster with Adron Chambers
Adron Chambers
Adron Lamar Chambers is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is 5', 10" tall and he weighs 185 pounds.-Early life:...
.
Josh Hamilton and Michael Young had RBI doubles in the first inning against Chris Carpenter, who became the first pitcher in a decade to make three starts in one Series. David Freese had a game-tying two-run double in the bottom of the first, breaking the post-season RBI record, and Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third. Craig even robbed a home run from Nelson Cruz in the sixth. St. Louis added two runs off the Texas bullpen in the fifth inning without getting a hit. Yadier Molina walked with the bases loaded and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch, forcing in another run to make it 5–2. In the seventh inning, Lance Berkman scored on a Molina single to make it 6–2.
Chris Carpenter was relieved after pitching six innings and was credited with the win. The Cardinals used four relievers
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
to hold Texas scoreless over the final three innings. The final out was recorded when David Murphy flied out to Cardinal left fielder Allen Craig
Allen Craig
Allen Thomas Craig is a Major League Baseball utility player for the St. Louis Cardinals.-Amateur career:...
as Busch Stadium went into a frenzy.
David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
became the sixth player in history to earn a League Championship Series
League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
The second round of the Major League Baseball post-season is known as the League Championship Series . This series has a best-of-seven playoff format, and currently follows the Division Series, in which the three division champions and one wild card team from each league play against each other...
and World Series MVP award in the same postseason.
The Rangers set a Series record by issuing 41 walks, breaking the previous record held by the Florida Marlins
1997 Florida Marlins season
The 1997 Florida Marlins season started off with the team trying to improve on their record from 1996. Their manager was Jim Leyland. They played home games at Pro Player Stadium...
when winning the 1997 World Series
1997 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
after issuing 40.
Composite box
2011 World Series (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals2011 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2011 season was the 130th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 120th season in the National League, and the sixth season at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals began their season at home against the San Diego Padres on March 31, coming off a 86-76 season and...
(N.L.) over Texas Rangers
2011 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers’ 2011 season was the 51st season in the overall history of the franchise and the 40th since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. Going into the season they were the defending American League champions....
(A.L.)
Television
The series was televised in the United States and Canada by Fox. Joe BuckJoe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
called play-by-play on his 14th World Series for the network, dating back to , while color analyst
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
handled his 22nd World Series since . Ken Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal
Kenneth H. Rosenthal is an American sportswriter and reporter.Rosenthal has served as lead field reporter for Major League Baseball on Fox since 2005...
served as field reporter for the games, while Chris Rose
Chris Rose
Christopher Rose is an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Rose attended University School in Hunting Valley during high school. Rose attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and graduated in 1993...
hosted the pregame and postgame coverage with analysts A. J. Pierzynski
A. J. Pierzynski
Anthony John "A. J." Pierzynski is an American Major League Baseball catcher who is currently with the Chicago White Sox. Pierzynski previously played with the Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants . Pierzynski was also a wrestler for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.-Early life:Anthony John...
and Eric Karros.
MLB International
MLB International
MLB International syndicates Major League Baseball telecasts in English outside of the United States. For example, whereas regular season game commentary on the British Five Network was taken direct from ESPN ; All-Star Game and World Series broadcasts typically used the MLB International feed...
syndicated television coverage of the Series (with Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC, working Major League Baseball, College football and Frozen Four hockey contests. He is also the television play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles...
and Rick Sutcliffe announcing) to viewers outside the United States.
Ratings
The overall average national Nielsen ratingWorld Series television ratings
This is a list of Major League Baseball World Series television ratings since 1984. Only United States audience totals are included, not Canadian television ratings, although the 1992 and 1993 World Series were highly watched in Canada....
for the seven games was 10.0, with Fox's 14.7 rating for Game 7 being the network's highest for a World Series telecast since Game 4 of the 2004 World Series.
| Game | Ratings Nielsen Ratings Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States... (households) | Share (households) | American audience (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8.7 | 14 | 14.2 |
| 2 | 8.9 | 14 | 14.3 |
| 3 | 6.6 | 12 | 11.2 |
| 4 | 9.2 | 14 | 15.2 |
| 5 | 8.8 | 14 | 14.3 |
| 6 | 12.7 | 21 | 21.1 |
| 7 | 14.7 | 25 | 25.4 |
Radio
ESPN Radio also broadcast the games nationally. This was the first World Series for play-by play announcer Dan ShulmanDan Shulman
Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....
and analysts Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
and Bobby Valentine
Bobby Valentine
Robert John "Bobby V" Valentine is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is currently the manager of the Boston Red Sox. He previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan...
.
Locally, the two teams' flagship stations broadcast the Series with their respective announcing crews. The Rangers' broadcasts aired on KESN-FM (with Eric Nadel
Eric Nadel
Eric Nadel is a sports announcer on radio broadcasts for the Texas Rangers baseball organization.-Biography:He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and decided at a young age that he wanted to be a sports broadcaster...
and Steve Busby
Steve Busby
Steven Lee Busby is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals . He batted and threw right-handed.-Professional career:...
announcing), while the Cardinals' broadcasts aired on KMOX (with Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
and John Rooney
John Rooney
John Rooney is an American sportscaster, currently best known for his role as a radio broadcaster for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.-Early career:...
announcing). Due to contractual obligations, the non-flagship stations on the teams' radio networks carried the ESPN Radio broadcasts of the games, although the local broadcasts were available on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
and to Gameday Audio subscribers at MLB.com
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
.
In the United Kingdom, Simon Brotherton
Simon Brotherton
Simon Brotherton is a principal football commentator for the BBC, appearing on Match of the Day and BBC Radio Five Live.Brotherton was still at school when he began his career with BBC local radio and developed further while he was studying at Birmingham University where he joined Birmingham's...
and Josh Chetwynd
Josh Chetwynd
Joshua Stephen Chetwynd is a journalist, broadcaster, author and former baseball player.-Journalism:Chetwynd has worked as a staff reporter for USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter and U.S. News & World Report...
called the games for BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
Aftermath
The 2011 World Series was only the second World Series ever in which a team one strike away from elimination came back to win. The first was the 1986 World Series1986 World Series
The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...
, in which the New York Mets rallied from a 5–3 deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 6 to win the game and, later, the decisive Game 7.
This was the third and final World Series title for Cardinals manager Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...
, who announced his retirement on October 31, 2011, after 33 seasons as a major league manager.
The Rangers became the first team to lose back-to-back World Series since the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
in and .
External links
- "Cardinals Win Like Never Before", Bernie MiklaszBernie MiklaszBernie Miklasz is an American sportswriter and sports radio personality. He has been the lead sports columnist at the St. Louis Post Dispatch since 1989, and is a veteran of the St. Louis sports radio scene. He hosts The Bernie Miklasz Show on 101 ESPN in St. Louis.Miklasz is a native of...
, St. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis Post-DispatchThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as... - "The Cardinals Will Win the World Series", Joe PosnanskiJoe PosnanskiJoe Posnanski is an American journalist and senior columnist for Sports Illustrated and former columnist for the The Kansas City Star. He writes extensively on his personal site, Joe Blogs and his SI blog Curiously Long Posts.-Journalism:Posnanski began his journalism career as a multi-use...
, Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...