Rangers try to bounce back in Game 7

ST. LOUIS -- In the aftermath of Thursday's epic World Series Game 6 at Busch Stadium, the Rangers and Cardinals had roughly 12 hours to think about what happened.

Then they had to show up at the ballpark, take batting practice and play another one. This time, though, the only guarantee was that there would be no tomorrow in terms of baseball.

"They just took a blow to the gut," Ron Washington said in talking about his team's mood after the Rangers -- twice within one strike of a world championship -- blew two late leads (and five leads overall) in Thursday night's 10-9 loss. "It was like playing on the sandlot ballfield and you get the wind knocked out of you and you keep calling a timeout until you can catch your breath. We were one pitch away from being world champions, so we took a blow. But in baseball, the bottom line is you have to get the last outs. You've got to have a special soul, special mentality, special aggressiveness -- something -- to get those last outs. We didn't get them."

For the Cardinals, who were 67-63 on Aug. 24, went 23-9 to erase a 10½-game wild-card deficit in the final five weeks of the regular season and earned a playoff berth on the final night, doing things the hard way seems to come naturally. Adding to their mythology was David Freese, who grew up a Cardinals fan in a St. Louis suburb, tying it in the ninth with a two-out, two-strike, two-run triple and winning the game with a homer in the 11th.

The Cardinals became the first team in World Series history to come back from a two-run deficit twice in the ninth inning or later. They also were the first to score in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings of a Series game. "They just would not go away, and that's the heart of a champion," Washington said before adding, "We're champions, too."

Washington spoke to his team immediately after Game 6 and planned to do so again before Game 7. The Cards led 5-2 after 61/2 innings in Game 7, helped by Freese's two-run double and a solo homer by Allen Craig, who also robbed Nelson Cruz of a home run.

The Cardinals' issues involved the lineup and choosing a starter for Friday. Earlier that afternoon, St. Louis removed Matt Holliday from the roster because of a severely bruised left pinky finger, suffered when he was picked off third base in Game 6. Adron Chambers replaced him.

Of bigger consequence was Tony La Russa's decision Friday morning to start Chris Carpenter on three days' rest for only the second time in his career and the second time this month.

The first was a disaster. In Game 2 of the Division Series, Carpenter faced the Phillies' Cliff Lee and allowed five hits, four runs and three walks in the first two innings, throwing 56 pitches. He was gone after three.

Despite the short rest, calling on Carpenter was a no-brainer for La Russa, who was confident that his earlier issues against the Phillies would not be a problem this time after pitching coach Dave Duncan spoke to his ace.

"Dave had a real heart-to-heart with him to gauge just how ready he was to pitch -- not mentally, but physically," La Russa said. "He probably would have pitched in this game sometime. Makes sense to start him. I think our guys feel better about him starting than anybody."

The Rangers were relieved that Mike Napoli (sprained ankle) and Cruz (groin strain) were healthy enough to start Game 7, but a bigger question was the mind-set of their closer. Neftali Feliz was one strike away from delivering the first world championship in the franchise's 51-year history before Freese hit a 1-and-2 fastball, at 98 mph, for the tying triple. Feliz did not return for the 10th.

"He's very stable," Washington said before Game 7. "We certainly didn't have to put a respirator on him. We didn't have to shock his heart back. As far as his mental state, he never looks like he's worried to me. He's begging for the opportunity. And if we get that opportunity, I am going to give him the ball."