The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-6 in Game 6 for the National League Pennant Sunday night. This is their second national league championship for the Cardinals in six years.
The championship was not captured because of one of the many All-Stars on the team, but rather the hometown guy, David Freese.
Freese, who grew up in a St. Louis suburb, hit an early three-run homer. He was later selected as MVP of the NL Championship Series.
Freese went 3 for 4 and his early three-run homer put the Cardinals 4 runs ahead in the first inning. This was Freese’s third home run of the series, along with three doubles and nine RBIs.
Cardinal fans experienced a bit of a scare in the bottom of the fifth when Albert Pujols, one of the best hitters of his generation, fell hard in a close first-base play to tag out Braun. He was slow to rise and a bit shaken up, but remained in the game.
The Cardinal’s win was a disappointment to Brewer’s fans. The Milwaukee Brewers were Major League Baseball’s best home team in regular season and had the first place record in the NL Central. The Brewers certainly lost their magic to be beat by the Cardinal’s during the last two games of the series at the very own Miller Park.
Looking to what is ahead to the World Series, the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals match up may likely be an entertaining match to watch.
The St. Louis Cardinals franchise has existed since 1882. Since the start of the franchise they have 18 NL titles and 10 World Series trophies. The franchise is loaded with Hall of Famers and the city is said to be one of the greatest baseball towns of the nation.
As for the Texas Rangers, their franchise has only existed since 1961. Before 1996, the Rangers had never been to the playoffs, let alone earn an championship. Before the previous season, they had only won one playoff game out of the entire history of the franchise.
However, we all know that the events of the past does not determine what will happen in the future. This can be confirmed even by looking at the stats and records of these two teams in the last two months. In the month of September, the Rangers had a record of 19-6 while the Cardinals had a record of 18-8. So far in October, the Rangers’ record is 7-3 and the Cardinals’ is 7-4.
Between the Rangers and Cardinals it appears that the battle for the 2011 World Series Championship will be an entertaining match up. Will the Cardinals, with a loaded Hall of Fame, bring home another championshp or will this be the start of many championships for the Rangers?