Ten years ago to this very date, we witnessed arguably the greatest game in World Series history.
Game 6 of the 2011 World Series has gone down in history as one of the most epic nights the game of baseball has ever seen. The Rangers and Cardinals put on a show that baseball fans won’t soon forget.
Let’s relive what happened that night.
The game was pushed back a day due to a rainout, but after a one-day delay, Game 6 was finally set for action. The Rangers held a 3-2 series lead and were on the verge of winning their first ever World Series championship. The Cardinals on the other hand, were coming home after dropping two of three in Texas, with the bats having gone quiet since Albert Pujols’ three-home run night in Game 3.
Texas got on the board first with a base hit by Josh Hamilton, putting St. Louis in an early hole and giving every indication that the Rangers would finally get to celebrate a World Series title. But that lead wouldn’t last, as in the bottom of the first, the resurgent Lance Berkman took Rangers starter Colby Lewis deep for a two-run homer that put St. Louis in the lead. And thus began the seesaw battle.
Texas would tie the game in the second on a ground-rule double by Ian Kinsler, and the momentum seemed to have swung back in their direction. Cards starter Jaime Garcia was pulled after three, and on came Fernando Salas.
Things would only get worse for St. Louis, as a routine pop-up was botched by Rafael Furcal and Matt Holliday, allowing Nelson Cruz to reach base. Salas would subsequently commit his own error by throwing a ball into center field that was meant to be a double play ball.
The Rangers also found themselves struggling on the defensive end. With Texas now leading 3-2, Michael Young bobbled a ball at first and when he threw to Lewis to try and nab Berkman, the throw pulled him off the bag.
Each team would combine for five errors, with one of the most memorable being one that went off of David Freese’s head. But things started to clean up a little in the seventh inning. For the Rangers, that is.
The game was tied at 4, but reliever Lance Lynn surrendered back-to-back home runs to Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz, putting the Rangers ahead 6-4. Texas would add another run to extend their lead to three.
Texas carried that lead into the bottom of the eighth, where they now had the Cardinals on the ropes, and were six outs away from a championship. But the battle was still far from over, as Allen Craig stepped to the plate for his first at-bat since taking over for Matt Holliday, who left the game with a hand injury.
And Craig wasn’t ready to call it quits, as he sent a ball into the left-field seats to make it a 7-5 game. St. Louis was still alive.
The Rangers came up empty in the top of the ninth, but in the bottom half, they turned things over to their lockdown closer, Neftali Feliz. Feliz would strike out Ryan Theriot for the first out, but again, St. Louis wasn’t done. Albert Pujols sparked a rally by doubling in what could’ve been his final at bat with the Cards and bringing the tying run to the plate.
Feliz proceeded to walk Lance Berkman, which set up Allen Craig as the potential winning run. Craig battled, but was ultimately frozen by a fastball for a called third strike. Now the Rangers were one out away. The only thing standing in their way was David Freese, the hometown kid who had been the NLCS MVP.
The count ran to 1-2, and now the Cardinals were down to their last strike. Texas was one pitch shy of winning their first ever World Series championship.
Feliz delivered the next pitch, and Freese drove it into right field. Had the Rangers not been in no doubles defense, Nelson Cruz would’ve had no problem catching it and dashing St. Louis’ title hopes. Nevertheless, Cruz still went after it, going all the way back to the wall and making a lunge. If he caught it, it was over.
Sure enough, it was just out of his reach, as it bounced away from him, allowing Pujols and Berkman to score. Freese made it to third, and the game was tied. The Rangers had collapsed and the Cardinals were still breathing.
But like St. Louis, Texas also refused to quit, regaining the lead on Josh Hamilton’s two-run homer off of Jason Motte. It was Hamilton’s first home run of the 2011 postseason. The Rangers now lead, 9-7.
But it would take more than that to kill the Cardinals. As was the theme of their late season surge that got them into the postseason, they continued to project that signature “never say die” attitude. Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay picked up base hits to get the crowd back into it.
The Cardinals needed a pinch-hitter for Motte, but were shorthanded on the bench. They turned to Kyle Lohse to lay down a bunt to move the tying run into scoring position. Lohse did just that, and the Cardinals continued to keep the pressure on the Rangers.
St. Louis picked up a run to come to within 9-8 and bring Lance Berkman to the plate, but once again, they were down to their final strike.
But Berkman battled against Texas reliever Scott Feldman, and finally found one in his groove, looping one into center field to bring in Jay and score the tying run. They just would not quit.
The Rangers failed to score in the top of the 11th and turned to Mark Lowe to pitch the bottom half. And in stepped the hometown kid, who had already done damage of his own.
The count ran full, but on the next pitch, Freese gave St. Louis fans a memory they’ll never forget. He sent a deep fly-ball to center field that cleared the wall, and prompted Joe Buck to exclaim, “We will see you tomorrow night!”
St. Louis had forced a Game 7 with a jaw-dropping 10-9 comeback victory. The St. Louis native got to live out a dream, saving his beloved Cardinals from elimination and giving them a fighting chance to win the series.
The Cardinals won Game 7, 6-2, and Freese was named World Series MVP.
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