In the Cardinals’ 16-7 rout of the Rangers in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, Albert Pujols hits three homers, drives in six runs, and collects five hits, all equaling World Series records. ‘Prince Albert’, who also set a Series mark with 14 total bases, connects on fastballs from three different Texas pitchers, joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the most round-trippers in a World Series game.

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In the Cardinals’ 16-7 rout of the Rangers in Game 3 of the Fall Classic, Albert Pujols hits three homers, drives in six runs, and collects five hits, all equaling World Series records. ‘Prince Albert’, who also set a Series mark with 14 total bases, connects on fastballs from three different Texas pitchers, joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the most round-trippers in a World Series game.

The Rangers tie the World Series at one game apiece with a 9th-inning comeback over the Cardinals, giving them a 2 – 1 win. It’s a scoreless game for 6 1/2 innings, as Colby Lewis and Jaime Garcia duel, until pinch-hitter Allen Craig drives in a run for the second straight game in the 7th. It stays that way until the 9th, when the Rangers use a pair of singles, a stolen base and a pair of sacrifice flies to stage a two-run rally against closer Jason Motte.

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The Rangers tie the World Series at one game apiece with a 9th-inning comeback over the Cardinals, giving them a 2 – 1 win. It’s a scoreless game for 6 1/2 innings, as Colby Lewis and Jaime Garcia duel, until pinch-hitter Allen Craig drives in a run for the second straight game in the 7th. It stays that way until the 9th, when the Rangers use a pair of singles, a stolen base and a pair of sacrifice flies to stage a two-run rally against closer Jason Motte.

2011 – The Cardinals win Game 1 of the World Series at home, defeating Texas, 3 – 2. Chris Carpenter pitches six strong innings, his only flaw being Mike Napoli’s two-run homer in the 5th. A single by pinch-hitter Allen Craig off Alexi Ogando breaks the 2 – 2 tie in the 6th, and the Cards benefit from another strong collective performance by their bullpen, with five relievers combining to shut out the Rangers over the last three frames.

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2011 – The Cardinals win Game 1 of the World Series at home, defeating Texas, 3 – 2. Chris Carpenter pitches six strong innings, his only flaw being Mike Napoli’s two-run homer in the 5th. A single by pinch-hitter Allen Craig off Alexi Ogando breaks the 2 – 2 tie in the 6th, and the Cards benefit from another strong collective performance by their bullpen, with five relievers combining to shut out the Rangers over the last three frames.

The Cardinals complete their very unlikely run to the World Series by beating the Brewers, 12 – 6, in Game 6 of the NLCS

The Cardinals complete their very unlikely run to the World Series by beating the Brewers, 12 – 6, in Game 6 of the NLCS

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The Cardinals complete their very unlikely run to the World Series by beating the Brewers, 12 – 6, in Game 6 of the NLCS at Miller Park. Series MVP David Freese opens the scoring with a three-run homer off Shaun Marcum in the 1st, but the Brewers once again manage to chase the Cards’ starter early, scoring 4 runs off Edwin Jackson in 2 innings. However, the Cardinals’ bats do not stop pounding, getting solo homers from Rafael Furcal and Albert Pujols off Chris Narveson as they pull to a 9 – 4 lead after 3 innings. Their bullpen is once again strong, giving up only 2 runs over the last 7 frames to send them forward to a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic.

The Texas Rangers advance to the World Series for the second straight year by routing the Detroit Tigers, 15 – 5, in Game 6 of the ALCS. Detroit takes an early lead against Derek Holland with solo homers by Miguel Cabrera in the 1st and Jhonny Peralta in the 2nd, but the Rangers explode for 9 runs to chase Max Scherzer in the 3rd. Michael Young hits a pair of two-run doubles in the inning, then adds a solo homer in the 7th, and Nelson Cruz hits his 6th homer of the Series in the 7th, on his way to being named ALCS MVP.

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The Texas Rangers advance to the World Series for the second straight year by routing the Detroit Tigers, 15 – 5, in Game 6 of the ALCS. Detroit takes an early lead against Derek Holland with solo homers by Miguel Cabrera in the 1st and Jhonny Peralta in the 2nd, but the Rangers explode for 9 runs to chase Max Scherzer in the 3rd. Michael Young hits a pair of two-run doubles in the inning, then adds a solo homer in the 7th, and Nelson Cruz hits his 6th homer of the Series in the 7th, on his way to being named ALCS MVP.

The Cardinals take a 3-2 lead over Milwaukee in the NLCS with a 7 – 1 win at home, even though, once again, their starting pitcher, Jaime Garcia, fails to reach the 6th inning. The longest outing by a Cards starter this series has been a five-inning stint by Chris Carpenter in Game 3. However, the bullpen is once again outstanding, with four pitchers keeping Milwaukee off the scoreboard for the last 4 1/3 innings and Octavio Dotel recording the win. St. Louis scores three times against Zack Greinke in the 2nd inning and then steadily adds to this early lead to get the win.

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The Cardinals take a 3-2 lead over Milwaukee in the NLCS with a 7 – 1 win at home, even though, once again, their starting pitcher, Jaime Garcia, fails to reach the 6th inning. The longest outing by a Cards starter this series has been a five-inning stint by Chris Carpenter in Game 3. However, the bullpen is once again outstanding, with four pitchers keeping Milwaukee off the scoreboard for the last 4 1/3 innings and Octavio Dotel recording the win. St. Louis scores three times against Zack Greinke in the 2nd inning and then steadily adds to this early lead to get the win.

The Milwaukee Brewers even the NLCS at 2 games apiece with a 4 – 2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Randy Wolf gives up just 6 hits through 7 innings, although he gets off on the wrong foot, allowing solo homers to Matt Holliday in the 2nd and Allen Craig in the 3rd as the Brewers fall behind, 2 – 0. Milwaukee comes back with a pair of runs in the 4th, then chase Kyle Lohse from the game as Ryan Braun hits a go-ahead single in the 5th.

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The Milwaukee Brewers even the NLCS at 2 games apiece with a 4 – 2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Randy Wolf gives up just 6 hits through 7 innings, although he gets off on the wrong foot, allowing solo homers to Matt Holliday in the 2nd and Allen Craig in the 3rd as the Brewers fall behind, 2 – 0. Milwaukee comes back with a pair of runs in the 4th, then chase Kyle Lohse from the game as Ryan Braun hits a go-ahead single in the 5th.

The Detroit Tigers turn to their ace, Justin Verlander, to stave off elimination in the ALCS. He limits the Texas Rangers’ bats to 2 runs through seven innings, then tires and leaves in the 8th having thrown a career-high 133 pitches. With the Bengals’ bullpen aces too tired to pitch, Phil Coke takes over and gets the last five outs, even though the Rangers manage to pull back 3 runs over the last two frames. Still, the Tigers had built a big lead against C.J. Wilson, with four home runs – two by Delmon Young and one each by Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn – and hang on for a 7 – 5 win.

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The Detroit Tigers turn to their ace, Justin Verlander, to stave off elimination in the ALCS. He limits the Texas Rangers’ bats to 2 runs through seven innings, then tires and leaves in the 8th having thrown a career-high 133 pitches. With the Bengals’ bullpen aces too tired to pitch, Phil Coke takes over and gets the last five outs, even though the Rangers manage to pull back 3 runs over the last two frames. Still, the Tigers had built a big lead against C.J. Wilson, with four home runs – two by Delmon Young and one each by Alex Avila and Ryan Raburn – and hang on for a 7 – 5 win.

The Rangers win another extra-inning game to take a 3-1 lead over the Tigers in the ALCS. They score 4 runs in the 11th inning with a single by Mike Napoli followed by Nelson Cruz’s three-run homer off Jose Valverde, his second extra-inning homer of the Series. Cruz also throws out Miguel Cabrera at the plate in the 8th in one of the game’s key plays; surprisingly, the Rangers had walked the Tigers’ slugger intentionally with one out and the bases empty, putting the potential winning run on base.

ByThis Day in Baseball

The Rangers win another extra-inning game to take a 3-1 lead over the Tigers in the ALCS. They score 4 runs in the 11th inning with a single by Mike Napoli followed by Nelson Cruz’s three-run homer off Jose Valverde, his second extra-inning homer of the Series. Cruz also throws out Miguel Cabrera at the plate in the 8th in one of the game’s key plays; surprisingly, the Rangers had walked the Tigers’ slugger intentionally with one out and the bases empty, putting the potential winning run on base.

The Chicago Cubs agree on a five-year contract with Theo Epstein to be their new team President. Epstein built the Boston Red Sox team that won two World Series in 2004 and 2007, but was shaken by the team’s brutal September collapse this season, following manager Terry Francona’s departure by a few days. The deal won’t be made official for another two weeks, and Boston and Chicago will need to agree on compensation as Epstein still has a year to go on his contract.

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The Chicago Cubs agree on a five-year contract with Theo Epstein to be their new team President. Epstein built the Boston Red Sox team that won two World Series in 2004 and 2007, but was shaken by the team’s brutal September collapse this season, following manager Terry Francona’s departure by a few days. The deal won’t be made official for another two weeks, and Boston and Chicago will need to agree on compensation as Epstein still has a year to go on his contract.