Thursday, October 20, 2011

World Series Game 2: Rangers at Cardinals

US Presswire photo
Hitting coach Mark McGwire congratulates Jason Motte following last night's win.
I hope I wasn't the only one who really enjoyed watching Game 1 of the World Series last night, happy to see a couple of aces actually pitch well and a tight, one-run game come down to a couple of key moments that tested both managers' ability to utilize both their benches and their bullpens. If that was an indication of things to come, this could be a really compelling series.

We'll have to see if the trend continues tonight in Game 2, though, with the spotlight now on Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia and Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis. Obviously, Texas faces some pressure to win this game and avoid falling into a 2-0 hole heading back home over the weekend.

The pressure also is on Ron Washington to not let Tony La Russa dictate the matchups the way he did during some crucial moments last night. It'll be real interesting to see if Washington does anything different in this one, especially when it comes to pitching around No. 8 hitter Nick Punto and enticing La Russa to send up a pinch-hitter from his deep and talented bench.

The forecast still calls for chilly temperatures in St. Louis, though there's no rain in sight and the wind has died down some, so it should make for a more comfortable environment for everyone at Busch Stadium...

107th WORLD SERIES - GAME 2
TEXAS RANGERS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 8:05 p.m.
TV: Fox
Radio: WSPZ (570 AM), XM 89
Weather: Partly cloudy, 49 degrees, Wind 12 mph LF to RF
STARTING LINEUPS
RANGERS
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
1B Michael Young
3B Adrian Beltre
RF Nelson Cruz
C Mike Napoli
CF Craig Gentry
P Colby Lewis

CARDINALS
SS Rafael Furcal
CF Jon Jay
1B Albert Pujols
RF Lance Berkman
LF Matt Holliday
3B David Freese
C Yadier Molina
2B Nick Punto
P Jaime Garcia

11 comments:

SonnyG10 said...

You weren't alone, Mark. I enjoyed watching game 1 also.

baseballswami said...

If you enjoyed game one then you must be really loving this one. It's the sixth -- just a couple of hits per team and no runs - great pitching and defense. The game is flying by - not that plodding, slugging, pitching changing style of the LCS at all.Amazing how the same players can look so different just a week later.

FS said...

Awesome! wow how often does that happen?

FS said...

OMG Motte about to blow it all up.

natsfan1a said...

Crud. Poor Garcia. He pitched a good game. I think I'm gonna have to sacrifice a squirrel before Game 3. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

(I also enjoyed watching Game 1. This one, too, until the Rangers went ahead. After that, not so much.)

Scooter said...

Terrific game!

(1a, you're really rooting that hard for the Cardinal? Any answer is fine; I'm just surprised.)


(Captch: uperi. The quality or state of being a mascot for the Montréal Expos, OBM.)

sjm308 said...

I am liking this a bunch - don't really care who wins and just can sit back and watch really good baseball. Not crazy about the announcers and I can't find Charlie and Dave on the radio so they will have to do. Will be rooting for 7 games and I guess if you put a gun to my head I would want Texas to win since this is their 2nd chance in a row.

baseballswami said...

Epic baseball being played while most people are grieving that their team is not in it - or sleeping. I kind of want to root for the national league but then texas goes and wins it playing small ball and just manufacturing a couple of runs in the ninth. We have seen every style of baseball out of both of these teams for a few weeks now - on any given night you have no idea what kind of game you might see - it is just so great. Whoever said Garcia did not deserve to lose is absolutely correct.

FS said...

I think we can forget about the Cardinals now. Their pitchers are definitely going to struggle in Texas. Last year Giants managed to hold Rangers off because they had superior pitching and Rangers' offense wasn't as bada** as it is now. I would hate to be right.

natsfan1a said...

Scooter, but of course. When I root, I always root hard.

Scooter said...

And we love that about you.

Post a Comment