So it’s only the seventh and this game might last for a long while yet, but the top of the seventh inning has taken the lead in the “Weirdest Half-Inning of Game 5 Pageant”.
Game 5 Score: Still 2-2 After Cards Leave Bases Loaded Again
Alexi Ogando took over on the mound for the Rangers to start the inning, and struck out leadoff man Rafael Furcal. But Allen Craig drew a walk, and with Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday and (maybe) Lance Berkman coming up next, this had the makings of a pretty scary and perhaps devastating inning for Texas.
But a moment later, Craig alit for second base and Mike Napoli threw him out by eight feet.
In the radio booth, ESPN’s Bobby Valentine said, “I don’t get that play at all.”
Here in my house, I didn't get the next play at all: With the count already 1-and-1 on Pujols, Ron Washington ordered Ogando intentionally walk Pujols. Because, you know, Matt Holliday's not capable of hitting a single or a double or a home run.
Holliday drilled a single to left-center. Pujols reached third, and Holliday second base on the throw. Washington ordered another intentional walk, this time for Berkman.
Which gave the Cardinals a bases-loaded opportunity for the third time in three innings ... and for the third time in three innings, they didn't score; this time, David Freese drove a routine fly to center field, where Josh Hamilton squelched yet another St. Louis rally.
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