Photograph by Jeff Curry
Okay, so maybe the ballpark in Arlington isn't the flat-out pitcher's nightmare we were all convinced it was every night. A night after the St. Louis Cardinals scored in the last six innings of Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, they were shut out in Game 4, with the Rangers' Derek Holland—who actually had a 4.69 ERA at home this year, if you thought he might be their Jaime Garcia in more ways than just age and left-handedness—striking out seven Cardinals against four base-runners.
Given the Cardinals' pitching numbers—Edwin Jackson allowed 10 base-runners while striking out three—it's a wonder they ended up down just four runs; on an average offensive night, in Texas or St. Louis, that would have been more than enough slack for the offense to pick up.
But this wasn't a normal night—the pitching staff got lucky, but it was wiped out entirely by Holland's outstanding night. In general, the Cardinals aren't going to win games in which Lance Berkman is the only guy able to get into the hits column, at least not unless Edwin Jackson is on the other side walking seven betters in five innings.
For all the heartbreak on both sides so far, we're back to Game 1 in a lot of ways: The World Series is now tied and the Cardinals have what amounts to an ersatz home-field advantage again, with the starting rotations reset. A win from Chris Carpenter Monday night against Rangers ace C.J. Wilson puts the series in the Cardinals' hands going back to Busch Stadium; a loss means one to two incredibly nerve-wracking elimination games at Busch Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday.
