Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to crack Game 5 wide open when he came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson was unfazed, though, and got Holliday to ground out to shortstop Elvis Andrus to end the inning and keep the Cardinals' lead at 2-1.
A scoreless fifth for St. Louis registers as an opportunity lost. Skip Schumaker got things started with a single to lead off the inning, and Nick Punto followed with a walk. When Albert Pujols came to the plate with two outs and first base open, Rangers manager Ron Washington wasn’t about to give the game’s most dynamic hitter a chance to beat him. The ensuing intentional walk to Pujols loaded the bases for Holliday.
The Rangers got on the board thanks to a solo homer from third baseman Mitch Moreland in the bottom of the third. Moreland had previously misplayed a ball in the second inning that resulted in a St. Louis run.
For more World Series coverage, Rangers fans should visit Lone Star Ball and Cardinals fans should check out Viva El Birdos.