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