Paper today was saying the team that wins Game 1 of the WS goes on to win the whole thing 61% of the time. Those winning Games 1 & 2 take it all 76% of the time. If the Rangers expectations are to take it all, they best make something big happen tonite.
I’m following the game on Yahoo GameChannel. Those of you with TVs: is it as much of a pitcher’s duel as it seems?
I just tuned in, but yes. Rangers have had, I think, three baserunners*. Not sure about the Cardinals, but no one has really threatened yet.
*Four, as I type this.
Well, here we go again.
Same matchup; same result.
I must admit as hard as I ride Wash I would have done the exact same thing, Ogando vs Craig. Didn’t work but I applaude the decision. Odds are it wouldn’t repeat and they could build off a confrontation won.
In all humility I have to admit I was wrong. I thought good pitching shut down good hitting. I must have been in error.
9th, this is awesome!!!
This is what happens when you bring Bruce Sutter back to close games. He does look remarkably similar to how he did in 1982.
Oh, Arthur. 
I have memories of him with the O’s. About as inconsistent then as now, I suppose, but I still notice him.
3-2, then 2-1. That’s WS worthy play. Lots of heart. This makes for a better series all the way around.
Thank God for the great Elvis-Ian combination! This series may just be too much for me to take.
I can not believe how often outfielders throw to the wrong base. Baseball 101.
Yeah, I can see how you’d prefer to let the tying run score to keep the go-ahead run on first.
Well, it looks like La Russa’s turn in the barrel over pulling Motte to put Arthur Rhodes in. I guess all the bellyaching over coaching decisions depends on who loses the game that day.
Folks, that was a great baseball game. Both of those games were great.
It may just be me, but it seems like it has happened in several playoff series where the media makes a big deal about the ace pitcher that starts the first game in a series and then the number two guy comes out in game two and pitches a gem like Garcia did last night.
I see what ya’ll mean about La Russa and his pitchers in the late innings. That’s a little annoying. But, it worked in game 1.
I think Washington made a mistake when he didn’t pull Lewis after the first hit in the 7th.
I also see what ya’ll mean about the announcers. I really don’t care to hear about the statistics about the last time a team came from 2 runs behind in a playoff series and the team mascot was named Joe on a Tuesday night. Save that crap for trivia night at the bar and focus on the game on the field in front of them.
Well, that was frustrating. What a great start from Garcia. Two weak hits in the 9th, a close steal attempt, a missed cutoff man, and now it’s 1-1 in the series.
I think it was a mistake to take Motte out, actually. Neither ball was well-hit, and he’s much more likely to get you the strikeout you need than Rhodes or Lynn. In the end it sort of worked, in that if Albert cuts the ball off it’s almost certainly only tied going into the bottom of the 9th.
Nice to see Craig going 2-for-2 against Ogando, with two go-ahead RBIs. The Cards will really need his bat in Arlington if they’re gonna hang with the Rangers. I excpect much higher-scoring games down there. The ball Pujols pinned Cruz to the wall with was an easy HR on most nights at Busch and all nights in Texas.
As for Washington and Game 1 - you can argue about the German PH (although he did fail again last night) and a few of the other moves, but anybody that watches NL ball knows that the IBB to Punto in the 4th with nobody on a 2 outs was a mistake. It increases the odds of giving up a run that inning, and makes it harder to put up a zero the next inning.
Nice to have a day off after that blown game, but now the Cards have to suffer their first unhappy flight in 18 (they had one the last 17 games prior to travel).
He didn’t throw to the wrong base – he threw to the correct base, but missed the cut-off man. The standard rule is to throw two bases ahead of the lead runner – in this case, the lead runner started on second, so the throw was meant to go home, which is absolutely the correct play. However, the runner from second was held up at third so there was no need for that ball to go through (and way up the line) to home. Instead, by missing his cutoff man, he allowed the go-ahead run to move up 90 feet, which cost them the game. Blown fundamentals in a close game can result in major consequences, as they did in this case. Unfortunately, this is surprisingly typical of Major League performance and rarely called out for being sloppy and incompetent.
It is typical in the playoffs. i saw many times when they let the tying or winning run get to 2nd by throwing home. It has been costly and they should know better.
In this case, the runner going to home was in. He should have prevented the runner going to 2nd.
Were we watching the same game?
The ball brushed Pujols’s glove; there’s no reason Pujols shouldn’t have cut it off. I’d blame that one on Pujols.