Did someone fail to turn the microphone on when “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery started singing the national anthem? Or maybe the Busch Stadium public address system wasn’t on? Seemed that way. His lips were moving, couldn’t hear a thing on TV.
Nice recovery, though.
A couple of notable tweaks to the lineups tonight. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa went with Nick Punto at second base instead of Ryan Theriot _ even against lefty C.J. Wilson.
Rangers manager Ron Washington moved ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz, coming off that monster performance, up from seventh to sixth in the lineup.
Ian Kinsler almost spun himself into the ground on his leadoff single for Texas. David Freese, playing in at third, could have had it. So much for that NLCS magic.
Kinsler promptly was caught stealing by catcher Yadier Molina. What an arm!
Dangerous play at first base, with Chris Carpenter diving to catch a low throw from first baseman Albert Pujols. Carpenter hits the bag with both hands, ahead of Elvis Andrus. Carpenter was lucky he wasn’t spiked on the hand. Nobody was hurt.
Carpenter got out of the inning. No score
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The weather was crummy for a bunch of playoff games this year, so why would the World Series be any different?
Because of some light rain in the late afternoon, there was no batting practice on the field for the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals before Game 1.
Temperatures were in the 40s at Busch Stadium and winds were gusting up to 27 mph.
Game 2 may not be much better.
Should be an interesting matchup on the mound. Anyone who watched Carpenter outduel Roy Halladay in Game 5 against the Phillies knows Carpenter can rise to the occasion when the pressure is on.
Let’s see about Wilson. He can be a free agent this fall, but he’s probably cost himself a few bucks already this postseason _ he’s 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA in three outings.
If teams are going to offer him big money this winter, they certainly want to know he can be a big-game guy.
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