Cardinals still having trouble on the road
The scene is always the same at Busch Stadium: a sea of Cardinals fans dressed in red, cheering and chanting, spurring their team to a postseason victory.
The problems start when St. Louis hits the road.
The Cardinals dropped to 1-6 away from home this postseason with a 6-2 loss to Boston in Game 2 of the World Series on Sunday night. And they better cure their traveling woes fast because they need at least one win at Fenway Park to take home a title.
“We’re suited to play any kind of game anywhere,” manager Tony La Russa said. “Our big regular season was built as much on quality starts as anything, and here in the postseason we have not had that.”
Whatever the reason, the Cardinals, who went 6-0 at Busch Stadium during the playoffs, look like a different team on the road these days.
Take two of their last three games, for example. First, Game 7 of the N.L. Championship Series, at home against Houston. The Cardinals were trailing Roger Clemens and the Astros in the sixth inning when Albert Pujols delivered a tying double and Scott Rolen hit a go-ahead homer.
Two clutch hits, and the Cardinals rode the spirit of St. Louis right into the World Series.
“Baseball is a celebration here. It’s a special event here. They came to the ballpark to win today,” Rolen said afterward, referring to the fans. “They’re a big part of our team and they’re a big part of what we do.”
Then, Game 1 of the World Series in Boston. The Cardinals had rallied from a pair of deficits to tie the score at 9 in the eighth inning when Rolen stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. But he chased a high pitch from reliever Keith Foulke and popped up to third. Jim Edmonds then took a called third strike, ending the threat.
Two of the team’s top sluggers seemed to tense up in a key situation.
“We’re in one of the historic parks and it’s tough not to be excited,” Larry Walker said.
Maybe a little too excited. The Cardinals certainly weren’t comfortable at chilly Fenway Park on Saturday night.
“The conditions were not great out there. The wind was howling a little bit. You’ve got to kind of acclimate yourself — both teams,” Rolen said. “It wasn’t 70 and clear.”
It was the same story in Game 2. Boston made four errors for the second consecutive night, but St. Louis couldn’t cash in against Curt Schilling.
Anderson gets start at DH
Marlon Anderson got his first start of the postseason for the Cardinals, serving as the designated hitter in the second game of the World Series.
Anderson, who batted ninth, was the Cardinals’ top pinch hitter this season, going 17 for 51, and had six steals. He has had some success against Boston Red Sox starter Curt Schilling, going 3 for 10 in his career.
Manager Tony La Russa chose Anderson over John Mabry, who is 2 for 13 lifetime against Schilling and Roger Cedeno, who is 3 for 15.
The Cardinals actually had three leadoff men in the lineup. Edgar Renteria batted first for the third straight postseason game because of lingering concerns about Tony Womack’s back spasms.
Womack has batted seventh since he left Game 6 of the National League Championship Series after three innings.
Game 1 highest rated since 1999
Boston’s 11-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night got the highest TV rating for the first game of the World Series since 1999.
Fox Sports’ prime-time coverage of the game got a 13.7 national rating, up 26 percent from Game 1 between the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees last year.
An average of 23.1 million viewers watched the Red Sox win, making it the most-viewed Game 1 since the opening game of the 1996 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees was watched by an average of nearly 23.7 million people.