Rangers vs Cardinals – live!

Top 3rd: Josh Hamilton grounds out to short. Apparently he didn’t consult with God about that at bat. Michael Young strikes out and Beltre is hit by a pitch. With two outs, Nelson Cruz steps in and flies out to end the inning.

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 2

Graham Randall emails: “Sat in Columbus Ohio (home of the SAW champions ) watching the game on Fox. Remember watching on channel 5 late on the night etc etc. This is magnificent theatre. Will have to say the Stanley Cup game 7 beats it but…I wish McCarver would shut up. Francona was a great earlier on.”

Stanley Cup? It’s a pretty trophy and all…but a shame they don’t play hockey anymore. (Oh wait, I’ve just been informed that there is still a NHL.)

Bottom 2nd: Furcal, who was dropped to seventh in the batting order tonight, leads off the inning with a single up the middle. Harrison does not look good tonight. But the defense picks him up as Schumaker hits into a verrrrrry close double play. And Carpenter strikes out to end the inning.

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 2

From below the line, DumbfoundedByIdiocy says: “Prediction for tonight’s game? Given how this series has gone I’ll say the Royals.”

Very bold prediction. David Lengel wants a piece of that bet.

Top 2nd: Mike Napoli leads off the 2nd with a single to left. If the Rangers win this Series, there’s no doubt in my mind that Nap-O-li is the MVP. He’s come up big at the plate and in the field, but beyond all of that, he stayed in Game 6 last night despite freakishly twisting his ankle at second base. Seriously, look at that photo. I don’t even understand the physics of it.

Murphy dribbles it back to Carpenter and he gets the lead runner at second. Matt Harrison lays down a very nice bunt and moves Murphy over to second. Two outs. Ian Kinsler walks and Molina tries to pick him off again—but Pujols can’t hold on to it. It’s a tough error for Pujols, but it doesn’t affect the inning as Andrus grounds out to end the top of the 2nd.

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 2

Daniel York emails: “Tim McCarver. Ugh. What a moron. Thankfully we are spared him on the ESPN America broadcast which takes the international feed. Though instead we get Rick Sutcliffe who is even worse than I remembered.”

Can we all lay off McCarver—at least until Game 8?—he’s a pro. And has two fans here in the BusfielDome.

Bottom first: Yadier Molina comes to the plate with Freese on second and he drives it deeeeeeeep to center. Hamilton goes back…and makes a leaping catch!

I don’t know about his sports hernia, but mine is achy after that inning…

What a series.

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 2

Bottom 1st: With two out and men on first and second, Mr. Freese delivers yet again! He hits two-run double to left and this game is tied. Doesn’t he know he doesn’t have to come through like that until the bottom of the ninth?

David Freese is just an RBI machine. Photograph: Rob Carr/Getty

And C.J. Wilson is already warming up in the Rangers bullpen…

Rangers 2- Cardinals 2

Bottom 1st: Theriot grounds out to start the inning as the camera pans to the Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire. I like McGwire but, honestly, how is he allowed to wear a baseball uniform when Pete Rose is not? Having Big Mac be a major league coach is like having Bernie Madoff prepare your taxes.

Allen Craig flies out to center and Albert Pujols walks, bringing one of last night’s heroes, Lance Berkman, to the plate. Matt Harrison throws seven straight balls in this inning and walks Fat Bearded Elvis, and that brings the Busch crowd to its feet as David Freese steps in.

Top 1st: Beltre strikes out and Cruz grounds out to third, and Carpenter is out of the inning. But the Rangers did what they needed to do tonight—strike early.

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 0

Top 1st: With Hamilton on second, Michael Young singles to right as well, and Hamilton scores easily. (Tim McCarver lets us know that Carpenter tried to “fist” him, but it didn’t work. Keep it clean, Tim, there are kids watching.)

Rangers 2 – Cardinals 0

Josh Hamilton hits an RBI double off Chris Carpenter to give Texas the lead Photograph: Rob Carr/Getty

Top 1st: Elvis Andrus walks and that brings Josh Hamilton to the plate. And Hamilton drills it to right, bringing Andrus all the way around from first.

Rangers 1 – Cardinals 0

Top 1st: And within seconds of getting to first Kinsler is picked off by Yadier Molina. So much for early momentum. One out.

Top 1st: Kinsler leads off with a single into left. And we are underway…

Warmups: We’re minutes away from the first pitch here in the BusfielDome (where corporate naming rights are still available) and all three of us will be liveblogging tonight. Michael gets the start, but David is already warming up in the bullpen.

Ceremonial First Pitch: Beloved Cardinal Bob Forsch is throwing out the first pitch tonight. Call me crazy, but for a Game 7 of the World Series, shouldn’t that honor have gone to Stan the Man? Or another Bob—Gibson?

National Anthem: Chris Daughtry performs the national anthem tonight and I, for one, am still bitter that he only finished fourth in his season of American Idol.

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Lineups:

TEXAS RANGERS
1. Ian Kinsler, 2B
2. Elvis Andrus, SS
3. Josh Hamilton, CF
4. Michael Young, 1B
5. Adrian Beltre, 3B
6. Nelson Cruz, RF
7. Mike Napoli, C
8. David Murphy, LF
9. Matt Harrison, LHP

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
1. Ryan Theriot, 2B
2. Allen Craig, LF
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Lance Berkman, RF
5. David Freese, 3B
6. Yadier Molina, C
7. Rafael Furcal, SS
8. Skip Schumaker, CF
9. Chris Carpenter, RHP

Pregame: Lineups and National Anthem coming shortly. First pitch is at 8pm ET.

Steve Busfield’s preamble: This baseball season has been a journey of discovery, as the Guardian’s new US-based sports blogs editor. I’ve loved baseball for a long time, spent a few summers in California, mostly watching the Dodgers, and then arrived in New York in September just as the season reached it’s climax. And what a climax. Liveblogging four different games at the same time was quite an experience, but not as much of an experience as it must have been playing in those games, supporting those teams, hearing those runs being scored elsewhere.

And then came the postseason. David, Michael and I have shared the blogging. While the Arizona Diamondbacks are not a storied franchise or, perhaps even much loved team, I have fond memories of their 2001 World Series victory. I think of Michael and David as Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (don’t ask me to say which is which), pitching on short to no-rest to beat the Yankees. Which, I guess, makes me Byung-Hyun Kim. David and Michael will be sharing the liveblogging duties tonight. I will be in the bullpen, cropping pictures, collating tweets, emails and comments, doing techy stuff and generally enjoying the finale to what has been a great World Series.

Joy for the Cardinals, dejection for the Rangers after Game 6. Who will be celebrating tonight? Photograph: Matt Slocum/AP

David Lengel’s preamble: Patrick Conway was pacing up and down his Upper West Side apartment after midnight this morning, tightly grasping a baseball bat, screaming repeatedly, “This is what it’s all about! This is what it’s all about!” Conway was not alone, as baseball fans all over the planet jaws dropped over and over again while watching Game Six of the World Series, and the St. Louis Cardinals dramatic, extra-inning, double-comeback from the brink, that saw them somehow defeat the Texas Rangers, 10-9, forcing a deciding seventh game.

Patrick, a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates added, “The only thing that would be better than this is if it were the Bucs.” Sports fans know when they are seeing something great, a moment, or in the case of last night, several moments, that’s bigger than team loyalties. It didn’t matter which ballclub you rooted for while the Cardinals and Rangers were putting on one of the most improbable shows in the history of a very old game, it just mattered that you were watching it happen. Game Six was the reason we are sports fans, and now, there’s a Game Seven to boot.

Tonight the season has gone as far as it can go. With little chance for rain tonight, we will watch new World Series champions celebrate on the diamond. Will it be the Texas Rangers, who have no rings to show for the franchises first 50 seasons? Or the St. Louis Cardinals, the Yankees of the National League, who have appeared in 18 Fall Classics, winning ten titles.

Thanks to the rain that put off Game Six for a day, St. Louis can hand the ball to their ace Chris Carpenter, who will go to the hill with just three days rest. The Rangers ask Matt Harrison, a 26-year-old with less of a household name to bring it home for the title starved Rangers. There’s a lot of talk about Texas and their streak of 46 games without two consecutive losses. My take on that is, eventually, heads or tails pops up consecutively, but all shall be revealed tonight.

As one fan recently tweeted “If Game Seven is even a quarter as good as Game Six, we’re in for a hell of a treat.”

Michael Solomon’s Preamble: Anyone who doubted that this World Series was going to reach Game 7 just didn’t understand—it was always in the Cards.

This is what baseball fans live for. Quite simply, there is nothing like it in sports. After a 162-game season, after playoffs that kept cardiologists on speed dial, and after six World Series games that put the “classic” in Fall Classic, it all comes down to one last game. No time limit. And like a party at Charlie Sheen’s house—everyone is available. (Honestly, it would not surprise me to learn that Nolan Ryan secretly put himself on the Texas roster just in case the team needs him to fire up the Ryan Express one more time and face a few batters.)

And unless you’re an actual Rangers or Cardinals fan, it almost doesn’t matter who wins tonight. Both teams deserve it and both have shown they will fight right up to the last out. Hell, the last strike. Twice.

As befits a series like this—with more lineup changes than the previews of Spider-man: Turn off the Dark — there will be three of us liveblogging in the Busfield Dome tonight. (And we have installed extra phone lines just to make sure that when Tony La Russa calls, the right man is at the keyboard.)

So sit back, fire up the defibrillator, and welcome to Seventh Heaven.

First pitch is at 8pm ET. Between now and then we will have David Lengel’s pregame predictions and Tony La Russa obsessions, the lineups, the Star Spangled Banner, and more. You could also catch up with the incredible drama of St Louis Carrdinals vs. Texas Rangers Game Six – as it happened.