The Cardinals couldnt get any key hits. Then again,they hardly got much right in a World Series game that turned slapstick for St.Louis.
Matt Holliday(notes) and Co. went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position andtheir average was hardly much better with signs to baserunners and calls to thebullpen.
Its not good to be down 3-2, Lance Berkman(notes) said after a 4-2 loss to theTexas Rangers on Monday night in which the Cardinals were done in by man andmachine. Wed rather be up 3-2, but we feel good.
Albert Pujols(notes) apparently called for a hit-and-run with the score 2-all inthe seventh inning, then didnt swing as Allen Craig(notes) got caught stealing second.
What could have been an inning-ending, double-play grounder by David Murphy(notes)bounced off lefty Marc Rzepczynski(notes) and rolled toward second for an infield hitthat brought up Mike Napoli(notes) with the bases loaded. His two-run double in theeighth put the Rangers ahead.
Pujols struck out in the ninth as Napoli threw out Craig trying to stealsecond again.
We had chances but didnt come through, Pujols said. Nothing you cando. Day off tomorrow and get ready to play on Wednesday.
And, it turns out, the Cardinals even botched their calls to the bullpen.Twice.
Its a really tough loss because we had the opportunity to add the runswhere you can make a mistake and you still win the game, Cardinals managerTony La Russa said. So its a very disappointing, frustrating loss.
On a night that was more Abbott & Costello than Tinker to Evers to Chance,the game will be remembered for a reach-out-and-touch-someone moment that LaRussa would rather forget.
When he went to the mound to relieve Rzepczynski, he was shocked to findLance Lynn(notes) had come in to pitch.
I went, `Oh, what are you doing here? La Russa said.
So much for the email, text-message age. La Russa had called bullpen coachDerek Lilliquist to have Jason Motte(notes) start warming up. Lilliquist didnt hear LaRussa correctly.
I thought it was Lynn, Lilliquist said.
Was Napoli supposed to face Rzepczynski or Motte?
La Russa insisted it was Motte. Lilliquist said Rzepczynski would have facedNapoli anyway.
It must be loud, La Russa said. I give the fans credit.
When Murphys grounder bounced away from Rzepczynski, La Russa lifted hisblue hat right off his head, in amazement and frustration, arching his eyebrows.
This wasnt what he meant before the game when he said he would tip his capto the Rangers if they proved to be the better team.
Yadier Molina(notes) hit an RBI single in the second and Skip Schumaker(notes) followedwith a run-scoring groundout against C.J. Wilson(notes) as St. Louis built a 2-0 leadfor Chris Carpenter.
But the Cardinals stranded 12 runners, leaving the bases loaded in the fifthand seventh.
Wilson pinned a runner at third in the third when Holliday grounded into aninning-ending double play, and the lefty got Holliday to ground out with thebases loaded and two outs in the fifth.
St. Louis left runners at second and third when Scott Feldman(notes) struck outNick Punto(notes) to end the sixth. In the seventh, Craig walked with one out andPujols apparently called for a hit-and-run on an 0-1 pitch.
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