MLB World Series 2011 Schedule: Game 1 Win Will Give False Positive for Cards

It's a pretty safe assumption that this World Series will play out much differently than the 2010 World Series did, where pitching dominated.

If the League Championship Series told us anything, it's that these two teams can flat-out mash the ball. It also taught us that neither team has a particularly reliable pitching staff. That's going to make for some very high scoring games.

The best starting pitcher in the series is Chris Carpenter, who starts for the Cardinals tonight. While we're on the subject of tonight, look for pitching to dominate, and look for the Cardinals to win.

For those of you familiar with modern history, look for this series to go pretty much the same way that the 2009 series between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees went.

In that series, Cliff Lee won Game 1 and Game 5 for the Phillies, but the Yankees won Game 2, Game 3, Game 4 and Game 6 to claim the title.

That's exactly how I see this series going. Actually, this will be a little different. In 2009, the Yankees had home-field advantage. So they had to win Game 3 and Game 4 in Philadelphia. Those two games will be in Texas this year.

The Cardinals have an advantage in Carpenter's starts. C.J. Wilson has simply not pitched like a No. 1 starter this postseason, and the Cardinals offense isn't the one to try to find your stuff against.

But in the games that Carpenter does not start, the Rangers have a nice advantage. Their offense is a little deeper, although the Cardinals have a fine offense. As for the rest of the pitchers, there is no advantage with the Cardinals to make up for the bats.

The bullpens will decide this series, and I like what Texas has to offer a lot more.

So, while the Cardinals are playing well and with a lot of confidence, I like the Rangers to take this one in six games. They will win Carpenter's starts, but will have a problem winning the other games.

Game 1	10/19/2011	Rangers at Cardinals	C.J. Wilson vs. Chris Carpenter	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 2	10/20/2011	Rangers at Cardinals	Colby Lewis vs. Jaime Garcia	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 3	10/22/2011	Cardinals at Rangers	Kyle Lohse vs. Matt Harrison	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 4	10/23/2011	Cardinals at Rangers	Edwin Jackson vs. Derek Holland	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 5*	10/24/2011	Cardinals at Rangers	Chris Carpenter vs. C.J. Wilson	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 6*	10/26/2011	Rangers at Cardinals	Colby Lewis vs. Jaime Garcia	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox
Game 7*	10/27/2011	Rangers at Cardinals	Matt Harrison vs. Kyle Lohse	8:05 p.m. EDT-Fox

Pitching matchups subject to change

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