Conventional wisdom dictates that good pitching and solid defense always beats great hitting. They also say that the teams with superior pitching win championships. In Game 1 of the World Series 2011, all these points were true, as the (1-0) St. Louis Cardinals [+1½] took a 1-0 lead over the MLB Odds favorite (0-1) Texas Rangers [-1½] on the strength of their pitching staff.
Chris Carpenter set the tone for the Redbirds with another strong start that’s started with a highlight diving catch on a poor throw by Albert Pujols to first base. Carpenter gave Tony LaRussa six innings of 5-hit ball, surrendering 2 earned runs, walking one and punching out 4 batters. The Cardinals bullpen followed suit, as five guys were called in to relieve the remaining three innings.
After Carpenter’s departure, St. Louis’ bullpen come in and allowed just one hit, and no runs. The winning combination for LaRussa’s bullpen in Game 1 consisted of: Fernando Salas (0.1 IP, 1 H), Marc Rzepczynski (0.2 IP), Octavio Dotel (0.2 IP), Arthur Rhodes (0.1 IP) and closer Jason Motte (1.0 IP) who shut the door in the ninth.
"We have a well-rounded team," said Allan Craig, who pinched-hit the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning. "We've been playing good 'D,' the starting pitching has been pretty good. The bullpen has been good. And we've been getting timely hits. I don't know what everyone else has been thinking about our team, but we know what we can do. We've just got to come out and keep doing it."
For the Rangers, there’s no way that this team is going to win a championship without their bats coming to life. All of Texas’ big names were kept in check by the Cards pitchers in the opener, as Mike Napoli’s 2-run shot in the fifth was all the Rangers could muster offensively.
“It’s tough,” said NLDS MVP, Nelson Cruz, who went 1-for-3 in Game one. “I mean, we didn’t do the job when we needed to. We need to deliver. They pitched me totally different, and I was expecting that. Away and the breaking pitches. I didn’t see anything inside.”
Hoping to have the answers once again tonight, LaRussa will send LHP Jaime Garcia (2011 Playoffs: 0-2, 5.74 ERA) to the hill in a very important Game 2. With the MLB odds in his favor, Ron Washington believes that RHP Colby Lewis (2011 Playoff: 1-1, 3.68 ERA) is the best man to even out the series at 1-1 and sent it back to Arlington, Texas.
My World Series Picks 2011: I believe that Texas will come out tonight and swing the bats with more purpose. I could even see them get off to an early lead. However, once things settle down, it will become a pitching duel in the middle innings, which I believe favor the Cards. I like St. Louis tonight as the MLB Point Spreads underdogs at +1½. Get $50 in Free MLB Picks Here!
