The St. Louis Cardinals tied Game 6 of the 2011 World Series again, scoring their fourth run on Yadier Molina’s bases-loaded walk, but not before continuing to frustrate a Busch Stadium crowd that’s seen Matt Holliday make a number of seemingly mental errors in this elimination game. Holliday, taking a big lead off third, was picked off by Mike Napoli after Adrian Beltre blocked his hand as he came back in head-first. The result was a Nick Punto walk that only reloaded the bases instead of scoring a go-ahead run on a wild Alexi Ogando, and Jon Jay left to face left-hander Derek Holland with two outs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning.
It’s been a nail-biter of a game, but it’s not exactly the first game I would show to someone who begged me to help them understand the unparalleled beauty of baseball or the understated grace of its athletes. The Cardinals have kept themselves in this game all along, but it’s never once felt like they’ve been in it.