MLB World Series 2011 Predictions: Jaime Garcia Due for Another Quick Hook

Thanks to a little help from Chris Carpenter, Allen Craig, the umpires and Jason Motte's spectacular beard (and fastball), the St. Louis Cardinals were able to beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 to win Game 1 of the World Series.

While we're on the subject, I guess I should point out that yours truly predicted the final score would be 3-2 roughly an hour after the Cardinals wrapped up the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

So if you don't mind me tooting my own horn, you can trust me. As luck would have it, I just so happen to have a prediction for tonight's Game 2 as well.

With a loss in Game 1, the Rangers pretty much need a win in Game 2 to avoid letting things get out of control. The man primarily responsible for delivering said win will be Colby Lewis, who has been pretty decent so far this postseason. He must be decent again to give the Rangers a chance.

Opposing Lewis will be Jaime Garcia, who can be dominant when his stuff is working correctly. The only problem is that his stuff has been erratic in his last two starts, as the Brewers didn't have much trouble racking up hits against Garcia in his two NLCS starts. He was lucky to leave his second start after just four and two-thirds and with just one earned run on his line.

Garcia could be better on Thursday night, but I worry about him going up against a Rangers lineup that is loaded with right-handed hitters. Garcia did hold righties to a .264 average during the regular season, but I think we all know that the Rangers' righties present certain complications.

Namely, seemingly every single one of them is capable of driving the ball out of the yard. The obvious danger is that Garcia will leave a few too many balls up in the zone, which will invariably lead to an early exit.

It's going to happen. The Rangers swing the bats too well to be held down for two games in a row. They are going to get their hits, and they are going to get runs.

Even if Garcia is able to limit the damage, he is still prone to getting a quick hook. We know this because Tony La Russa is his manager, and he has made it quite clear that he doesn't mind trusting his bullpen to finish what his starters, um, start.

My guess is that La Russa has this confidence because his bullpen has gotten the job done in spectacular fashion.

It's a nice little system La Russa has developed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Prediction for Garcia: four-plus innings, four earned runs.

Game Prediction: Rangers 6, Cardinals 4