The World Series Game 7 on Oct. 28 was pretty much set up to be lopsided. What’s more, it was set up for the St. Louis Cardinals to win it all after all they did to get here. Philadelphia Phillies fans like myself kind of figured out it would end up like this after the Cardinals knocked us out exactly three weeks earlier, and it was the Texas Rangers’ time to learn that in the end of the World Series.
Game 7 didn’t have two comebacks with one strike to spare, a bullpen phone miscommunication, three home runs from Albert Pujols, a ninth-inning rally or a two-hit shutout. But the 6-2 win from the Cardinals did encapsulate just how St. Louis became the most improbably world champions in decades.
All that was missing from the battle was the last-minute comeback that the Cardinals specialized in, especially in Game 6. But Game 7 did have a mini-comeback of sorts after the Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Chris Carpenter. Texas made a statement that their Game 6 loss wouldn’t carry over after all, yet St. Louis then made a statement of its own.
David Freese solidified his World Series MVP status with a two-run double in the first, just as he solidified his NLCS MVP status with an early home run in Game 6 at Milwaukee. From then on in, the Cardinals played the kind of game that brought them so much good fortune in the last two months.
Along with Freese, Allen Craig was the Game 7 MVP with yet another go-ahead hit – this time a home run in the third. What’s more, he robbed Nelson Cruz of a home run in the sixth that was pretty much the Rangers’ last scoring threat. Rafael Furcal was revitalized in the No. 7 position with two hits – one less than he had in the first six games combined – and an RBI on a hit-by-pitch. Lance Berkman capped off his big World Series with an infield hit in the seventh that set up an insurance RBI from Yadier Molina.
At the center of it all as usual was Tony La Russa, who made one last change to his lineup for Game 7 and had it pay off to wrap up his magical two months. His decision to bring Chris Carpenter back on three days rest also paid off, as Carpenter dominated after a slow start and shut the Rangers down almost like he shut the Phillies down in the deciding NLDS game. As for the Rangers’ Ron Washington, his move to start Matt Harrison instead of Derek Holland did not work, and he stuck with reliever Scott Feldman longer than he should have in the fifth.
The World Series was officially decided in a fifth inning where the Rangers walked three Cardinals, hit two and gave up two runs without giving up a hit. That was the kind of small ball and luck that the Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Rangers were desperately missing in the playoffs, unlike the Cardinals.
But St. Louis had a lot of things that the rest of the postseason competition did not have this October, and it was on display at the very end. While the rest of the World Series set too high of a bar for Game 7 or the Rangers to match, the Cardinals will forever remember the finale as a fitting end to their two month reign over baseball.
It was a night where everyone contributed, where Tony La Russa made the opposition look foolish, where their ace recovered to take control, and where the formerly maligned bullpen finished it off without breaking a sweat. It was a St. Louis Cardinals’ night, just as it somehow became a St. Louis Cardinals season and World Series of triumph.
Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Phillies since he was eight years old.
Other stories from this contributor
World Series Game 6 evokes ghosts of Puckett, Buckner
World Series Game 6 more like Game 7 for Rangers?
World Series Game 6 may need to be delayed a few days
World Series Game 5: Rangers inexplicably steal 3-2 lead
World Series Game 4: Rangers shift momentum again