MLB World Series 2011: Rangers Forgot to Pack Offense as Cardinals Take Game 1

The St. Louis Cardinals held up their end of the bargain, but the big-hitting Texas Rangers were anemic in a Game 1 loss Wednesday. 

After nine magnificent innings of play, the Cardinals held onto home-field advantage with a 3-2 victory. The game was pretty much what I expected from the start. 

There was solid defense on both sides and the pitching was, for the most part, above average. The one thing that was missing was the timely and prolific hitting of the Texas Rangers. 

Ron Washington's crew had to settle for a home run provided by Mike Napoli in the fifth. It was indeed a pristine jack job that sailed over the right field fence, but after that, nothing. Only two players had two hits, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre. 

We can forgive the Cardinals and their eight runners left on base, but the Rangers are supposed to cash theirs in. 

If this is going to be a pitching duel that gets to the bullpens, the Cardinals have the mettle to win that war. 

Game 1 gave us a glimpse into Tony LaRussa's best case scenario for every game this series. If he can have his rotation limit the damage to two runs or less, the Cardinals can survive. 

There is no argument that the Rangers have more firepower. The Cardinals do not want this to be a slug fest. Keeping it to a pitchers' series works into the hands of St. Louis. 

For now, the momentum rests solely on the Cardinals side. This is going to be a long series with most tabbing it for six or seven games. 

Baseball purists have to love the dedication to defense. If it remains that way the unlikely victors will take the Fall Classic. 

I have a feeling that the Rangers will heat up soon enough, though. Colby Lewis and Jaime Garcia meet up in Game 2, which is certain to be far from the pitchers duel we saw in Game 1. 

The Fall Classic opened with a fantastic first chapter. I can hardly wait to see what they have for store after the intermission.