Associated Press
ARLINTON, Tex. ó Albert Pujols joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game, tying records with five hits and six RBIs that led the Cardinals to a 16-7 rout of the Texas Rangers on Saturday night that gave St. Louis a 2-1 Series lead.
In Game 4 on Sunday night, Derek Holland pitches for the Rangers and Edwin Jackson starts for the Cardinals. Thirty-six of 54 teams that won Game 3 to take a 2-1 Series lead have gone on to the title, including 10 of the last 11.
A blown call by first base umpire Ron Kulpa and a throwing error by first baseman by Mike Napoli led to a four-run fourth inning that changed the game/
Pujols hit a long three-run homer that helped the Cardinals open a 12-6 lead over after six innings.
He added a two-run shot in the seventh and a solo one in the ninth.
Following two crisp games during a split in St. Louis, the teams played a messy Texas shootout that saw the fourth and fifth innings alone drag on for 1 hour, 22 minutes and the game take 4:04.
Given a 5-0 lead, St. Louis allowed Texas to close to 5-3 in the bottom half of the fourth. St. Louis opened an 8-3 lead in the fifth, but the Rangers closed to 8-6 in the bottom of the inning and had the bases loaded when Ian Kinsler hit an inning-ending popup.
Pujols followed in the sixth with a no-doubt, 423-foot drive off Alexi Ogando that clanked off the facing above the restaurant windows in left field, and Yadier Molina added a sacrifice fly.
Texas made three errors that led to three unearned runs
Allen Craig, who had run-scoring pinch-hit singles in the first two games, homered on Matt Harrison’s seventh pitch.
Pujols singled leading off the fourth and Matt Holliday hit a hard grounder to Elvis Andrus for what should have been a bases-clearing double play. The shortstop tossed to second, but Kinsler’s throw was off line and pulled Napoli off first base.
Playing first base for the first time in the Series, Napoli caught the throw and his glove came down hard on Holliday’s left shoulder, with the runner a step short of the bag, But Kulpa called him safe, despite an argument from Rangers manager Ron Washington.
Lance Berkman singled, and David Freese’s double down the right-field line gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Molina was intentionally walked and Jon Jay hit a bouncer to Napoli, who had plenty of time to throw home for a forceout. But his throw went over the left-handed batter’s box and past lunging catcher Yorvit Torrealba as two runs scored. Ryan Theriot singled for a 5-0 lead, and Harrison threw home on Rafael Furcal’s comebacker, with Torrealba blocking the plate and tagging Jay to prevent another run.
Michael Young homered off Kyle Lohse leading off the bottom half and Nelson Cruz’s two-run drive just over the right-field wall gave him home runs in four straight postseason home games. Molina made a nice defensive play to preserve the two-run lead after Kinsler flied to left, snagging Holliday’s one-hop throw slightly to the first-base side of the plate and sweeping his glove back to tag out Napoli.
Neither starter got out of the fourth.