ST. LOUIS – Just when the Texas Rangers seemed picked clean as the barbecue Cardinals closer Jason Motte devoured for lunch in front of TV cameras, they scored two runs in the ninth inning Thursday night to win 2-1 and even the World Series at one victory apiece.
Motte, reluctantly handed the closer role late in the regular season by manager Tony La Russa, had been invincible throughout the playoffs. But he gave up a single to Ian Kinsler, and after Kinsler stole second, Elvis Andrus got a hit that put runners on second and third with none out when Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols couldn’t handle the cutoff throw from center fielder Jon Jay. Pujols was charged with an
Josh Hamilton and Michael Young followed with sacrifice flies against Motte’s successors Arthur Rhodes and Lance Lynn, and instead of the Cardinals heading to Texas up two games to none, they stagger south having squandered the home-field advantage.
Motte likely had heartburn by the end of the night, and it had nothing to do with the fare from Pappy’s Smokehouse, St. Louis’ pork paradise. In nine previous postseason innings he’d allowed no runs and one hit.
And the Cardinals had a string of 15 consecutive victories on getaway days snapped, days they liked to end with what they called “Happy Flights” to the next city on their schedule.
Instead, it was the Rangers’ Neftali Feliz who closed the game. Feliz walked Yadier Molina to begin the inning but struck out Nick Punto and pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker, and retired Rafael Furcal on a flyout, reaching 99 mph with his fastball.
“They did some classic baseball stuff to get the two guys around to score,” La Russa said. “It took a lot of guts [for Kinsler] to steal that base.”
The Rangers haven’t lost two games in a row since late August. They are the defending American League champions. Nobody should be surprised that they turned the series on its head in the last of their 18 innings in St. Louis. Guts they have in spades.
Courtesy of yahoo.com
