Everyone knows winning in October comes down to performing better in the clutch.
If Wednesday night's World Series Game 1 between the surging Texas Rangers and upstart St. Louis Cardinals taught us anything, it's that this series may very well follow the prototypical October baseball script. Pitching duels, big outs recorded by relievers and late game hits – that's what we as fans have come to expect of late October baseball.
We've been cheated for the better part of the past decade, with no World Series reaching that magical seventh game, and seven of the past 10 fall classics were decided in five games or less.
On Wednesday night, there was a different feeling inside St. Louis' Busch Stadium. It could even be experienced while watching the game in the comfort of your own home.
There's something about this series that makes you want to tune in. Be it the underdog theme the Cardinals have taken on, or the Goliath role the Rangers have assumed, these two teams played a Game 1 that came down to the final pitch, and reminded us all how beautiful World Series baseball can be in its purest form.
But before I go all Field of Dreams on you, let's look at the series.
Game 1 went to the Cardinals, but how will the rest of the series shape up?
The slight edge has to go to the Cardinals. Besides having home field advantage, they are on fire and have confidence on their side. They weren't supposed to beat the Phillies in the division series, and they had no business beating the Brewers in the NLCS. But against all odds, here they are in the World Series, just three wins away from their second title in five years.
The Rangers, on the other hand, were expected to be here. They're the ones facing the pressure. Losing in two consecutive World Series appearances would be a crushing blow, and you can bet attitudes will start to get testy inside of their clubhouse if the Rangers continue to fall behind in the series.
Let's put the intangibles aside for a moment and focus on the talent on the field.
The Rangers' and Cardinals' starting rotations have both struggled mightily in the postseason up to this point. Both teams have been carried throughout the playoffs by their offensive weapons, and despite last night's pitching duel, that's exactly where this series will be won.
The Cardinals' offense is loaded, and thus far in October, they've been mashing the ball. David Freese has clubbed four homeruns and 14 RBIs while batting at a lofty .429 average. The always-dangerous Albert Pujols has hit .400 in 45 postseason at bats, and Matt Holliday continues his torrid second-half assault by hitting .361 in 11 postseason games. This Cardinals order is a scary entity from top to bottom, and it's a veteran lineup with a great deal of postseason experience.
Unfortunately for St. Louis, the Rangers boast the hottest offensive contributor of the playoffs in Nelson Cruz. Cruz has hit six home runs and 13 RBIs and he's flanked in the lineup by David Murphy and Mike Napoli, who have hit .360 and .325 in the playoffs, respectively.
But above all else, the Rangers' ability to win this series may very well come down to awakening last year's MVP from his post season slumber. Yes, I'm talking about Josh Hamilton.
Hamilton isn't having an awful postseason by any means, but his .267 batting average and no homeruns are vastly underwhelming. He's the anchor of this offensive attack, and the Rangers go as he does. If Hamilton can find a way to start swinging a hot bat, then the balance of power in this series may very well tip in the Rangers' favor. Until that happens, this series appears to be the Cardinals to win. Their starting pitching may not possess the ability to carry them, but their offense does. Not to mention, their bullpen has excelled in the postseason, and that can go a long way towards masking the starting rotation's deficiencies as long as the offense continues to dominate.
Final Prediction: Cardinals in 6
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