| ST. LOUIS Favored by few, the St. Louis | | | | place to pitch. Rogers, who threw 23 shutout |
| Cardinals used an unlikely cast of characters | | | | innings in the postseason, was saved by |
| to win their first World Series in nearly a | | | | manager Jim Leyland for a possible sixth game |
| quarter century. | | | | Saturday in Detroit. |
| | | | |
| Jeff Weaver dominated, David Eckstein drove | | | | Weaver, cast off by the Yankees three years |
| in two runs on balls that didn't leave the | | | | ago after a World Series flop, allowed four |
| infield and the Cards took advantage of | | | | hits in eight innings, matched his season |
| another wild throw by a Tigers pitcher to | | | | high with nine strikeouts and walked one |
| beat Detroit 4-2 on Friday night and won the | | | | before Wainwright finished for the save. St. |
| Series in five games. | | | | Louis pitchers held Detroit to a .205 average |
| | | | (33-for-161) over the five games. |
| I think we shocked the world," Cardinals | | | | |
| center fielder Jim Edmonds said. "It's an | | | | Verlander gave up three runs one earned and |
| unbelievable experience." | | | | three hits, recovering from early control |
| | | | problems to give the Tigers a decent effort. |
| Manager Tony La Russa's Cardinals had just 83 | | | | |
| regular-season wins, the fewest by a World | | | | After a day-long rain, the weather cleared |
| Series winner, and nearly missed the playoffs | | | | about two hours before gametime. Still, it |
| after a late-season slump. But the Cardinals | | | | was 47 degrees when play began, and a brisk |
| beat San Diego and the New York Mets in the | | | | wind made it feel that much colder. But the |
| playoffs, then won their first title since | | | | wintry conditions didn't dampen the |
| 1982 by taming a heavily favored Tigers team | | | | enthusiasm of the 46,638 mostly red-clad |
| that entered the Series with six days' rest. | | | | fans. |
| | | | |
| After closer Adam Wainwright struck out | | | | Verlander, throwing up to 100 mph, was wild |
| Brandon Inge for the final out, the ballpark | | | | in the first inning, walking the bases loaded |
| erupted. Wainwright raised his arms in | | | | and throwing two wild pitches. By his fourth |
| triumph, catcher Yadier Molina ran to the | | | | batter, Jason Grilli was warming up in the |
| mound and the pair bounced off toward second | | | | bullpen, but Verlander escaped by the |
| base, where they were joined by teammates | | | | thinnest of margins, needing 35 pitches to |
| running out from the dugout and the bullpen. | | | | get through the inning. |
| | | | |
| "I don't think anybody in uniform didn't do | | | | He walked Duncan with one out, threw a wild |
| something in the postseason. Everyone did," | | | | pitch, then walked Albert Pujols. With a 2-0 |
| said La Russa, whose uniform number 10 now | | | | count on Edmonds, pitching coach Chuck |
| matches the team's World Series titles. "The | | | | Hernandez came to the mound. Edmonds fell |
| defense was great. The pitching was great. | | | | behind 3-0, then flied out after Verlander |
| Timely hitting. The best bench I've had in a | | | | worked the count full. Following another wild |
| long time. They just refused for us to lose." | | | | pitch, Verlander walked Rolen, and when he |
| | | | started Ronnie Belliard with a ball, catcher |
| Minutes later fireworks filled the sky above | | | | Ivan Rodriguez went to the mound. |
| the ballpark. | | | | |
| | | | After fouling off a 3-2 pitch, Belliard hit a |
| Eckstein, the 5-foot-7 shortstop who had four | | | | grounder up the middle that Carlos Guillen |
| hits in Game 4, was the Series MVP. | | | | just got to in time to make an off-balance |
| | | | throw to first, beating Belliard by less than |
| "No one believed in us, but we believed in | | | | a step as Casey scooped the ball on a bounce. |
| ourselves," Eckstein said. | | | | Verlander yelled and whipped his arm across |
| | | | his body excitement. |
| On a cold Midwest night more suitable to | | | | |
| football than baseball, the Tigers made two | | | | But St. Louis went ahead in the second, after |
| more errors, raising their Series total to | | | | Molina looped a single to center leading off, |
| eight three by Inge, the third baseman, and | | | | took second on So Taguchi's bunt and third on |
| a record five by their pitchers. Eight of the | | | | Weaver's groundout. Eckstein hit a smash, and |
| 22 runs allowed by the Tigers were unearned, | | | | both the ball and a chunk of his bat headed |
| the most by a team since the 1956 New York | | | | toward third. Inge dived and grabbed the ball |
| Yankees against Brooklyn. | | | | as it went over the base and then, even |
| | | | though he had plenty of time, rushed his |
| While the Tigers tossed the ball to the tarp, | | | | throw. It bounced and went up the line as |
| the Cardinals were mostly crisp, with the | | | | Molina scored. Eckstein was given a hit on |
| notable exception of right fielder Chris | | | | the play and advanced on the bad throw by |
| Duncan, who dropped a fly ball just before | | | | Inge. |
| Sean Casey's two-run homer in the fourth put | | | | |
| Detroit ahead 2-1. | | | | Weaver held the Tigers to two hits in the |
| | | | first three innings. With one out in the |
| St. Louis came right back to take a 3-2 lead | | | | fourth, Magglio Ordonez lofted a fly to right |
| in the bottom half as pitcher Justin | | | | and Duncan, calling off center fielder |
| Verlander threw away a ball for the second | | | | Edmonds, allowed it to kick off his glove for |
| time in two starts, and Scott Rolen added a | | | | a two-base error. |
| big run with a two-out RBI single in the | | | | |
| seventh off reliever Fernando Rodney, | | | | Casey sent the next pitch into the seats down |
| extending his postseason hitting streak to 10 | | | | the right-field line for a two-run homer that |
| games. | | | | put Detroit ahead. Then it was the Tigers' |
| | | | turn to make a key mistake. |
| It was the Cardinals' first title since 1982 | | | | |
| and the first for the NL since the 2003 | | | | Molina and Taguchi singled with one out in |
| Florida Marlins. La Russa, who led the | | | | the bottom half and Weaver bunted back to |
| Oakland Athletics to a sweep in the | | | | Verlander. He had an easy force at third, but |
| earthquake-interrupted 1989 Bay Bridge | | | | sidearmed the ball and it bounced past Inge |
| Series, joined Sparky Anderson (Cincinnati | | | | for an error that allowed Molina to score the |
| and Detroit) as the only managers to win | | | | tying run and left runners on second and |
| Series titles in each league. | | | | third. Eckstein followed with a grounder to |
| | | | shortstop that drove in Taguchi for a 3-2 |
| It marked the first time since the 1912 Red | | | | lead. |
| Sox at Boston's Fenway Park that a team won | | | | |
| the Series at home in a first-year ballpark. | | | | Duncan had another adventure in the fifth, |
| And the Cardinals (83-78) almost didn't even | | | | letting Casey's catchable two-out fly drop |
| make it to the postseason. They had a | | | | behind him on the warning track for a double. |
| seven-game NL Central lead with 12 to go but | | | | But Weaver struck out Rodriguez on a checked |
| lost eight of nine before recovering to | | | | swing. |
| finish 1 games ahead of Houston, the | | | | |
| defending NL champion. | | | | Pujols turned in the niftiest play, sprawling |
| | | | to snare Placido Polanco's grounder to first |
| Minnesota, in 1987, had set the previous low | | | | leading off the seventh, then making a |
| for wins by a Series winner, going 85-77. | | | | one-bounce throw from his back to Weaver |
| | | | covering the base. |
| "The team that wins a world championship is | | | | |
| the team that played the best," La Russa | | | | Notes: The record for unearned runs allowed |
| said. | | | | in the Series is 13, shared by the 1903 |
| | | | Pittsburgh Pirates and 1909 Tigers. ... |
| As the Tigers failed in their bid for their | | | | Verlander's two wild pitches in an inning |
| first title since 1984, their season ended | | | | tied the Series record. |
| with Kenny Rogers rested and ready with no | | | | |