With runners at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, rookie Allen Craig was called in to pinch it for pitcher Chris Carpenter. In an attempt to counter the change, Rangers skipper Ron Washington turned to his very reliable set up man Alexi Ogando.
The first pitch from Ogando to Craig was lined hard to right field, but it appeared that Nelson Cruz was about to make a spectacular catch, but simply could not haul it in. It glanced off of his foot, and the go ahead run scored for Saint Louis.
Craig is the first pinch hitter to have a go-ahead RBI in the 6th inning or later of a World Series game since Wade Boggs in 1996.
It would have been fitting had Cruz made the catch, as it would have been just one of several excellent plays that fans witnessed on Wednesday night.
In the top of the first inning, a sharply hit ground ball sent Pujols towards second base, where he made a routine throw to Carpenter covering first base. The throw was ahead of Carpenter, though, and he made an incredible diving catch, while at the same time tagging the base with his hand.
In the 6th inning, an Ian Kinsler bloop single, followed by a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly out, the Rangers had a runner at 3rd with two outs. A sharply hit ball by shortstop Michael Young looked like it would give the Rangers their first lead of the game. A sliding stop by Pujols and a toss to first base ended the threat, and the Rangers could not get another opportunity for the rest of the night.
Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes, and Jason Motte shut down the Rangers from that point on, allowing no hits in the final two innings of the ball game.
The Cardinals scored the first runs of the night on a two run single by Lance Berkman in the fourth inning. After Pujols was hit by a pitch, and a Matt Holliday double, the Cardinals had runners at the corners with no outs. An increasingly nervous CJ Wilson dared Berkman with a high fastball, and Berkman made him pay.
The only true sign of life from the previously red hot Rangers' offense came in the fifth inning, when catcher Mike Napoli blasted an opposite field home run off of Chris Carpenter.
Napoli became the first American League Catcher to hit a game one home run since 1982.
The Cardinals own a 1-0 series lead, and improve their all time record to 3-5 in game 1 of the World Series when playing at home.
Game two of the seven game series will be on Thursday, October 20. Colby Lewis of the Rangers will square off against Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Ian Kinsler 1B(cs) FO 1B GO
Elvis Andrus GO K Sac B K
Josh Hamilton GO K Sac fly FO
Young GO GO GO GO
Beltre 2B 1B GO GO
Cruz BB K 1B FO
Napoli DP 2R HR BB
Murphy LO K
------PH Gentry K
Wilson FO GO
------PH German K
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Furcal BB K BB FO
Jay DP GO Sac B GO
Pujols LO HBP INT FO
Holliday GO 2B DP LO
Berkman GO 2r 1B FO 1B
Freese BB Sac FO 2B Sac B
Molina GO GO K GO
Punto 1B INT BB K
Carpenter K K 1R1B
-------PH Craig
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