World Series 2011: Winner of Game 2 Will Win World Series in 6

Before the World Series began, I made a prediction. That prediction said that the Rangers would win the World Series in six games. The two games that I predicted the Cardinals would win are Chris Carpenter's starts, Game 1 and Game 5.

So, it would be quite ridiculous for me to backtrack now, when the only thing that's happened is a Chris Carpenter win.

I will admit that I expected the Rangers to put up more offense, but I expected the same thing from the Cardinals.

For right now, my stance is firm. The Rangers will win Game 2, Game 3, Game 4 and Game 6. The Cardinals will get the series back to St. Louis, but lose there.

So, what will make me change that prediction? Well, if the Cardinals win tonight, the series will still go six games, but the title will make its way to St. Louis. 

This game is just that important. Can Jaime Garcia take the ball and deliver a win to the Cardinals? If he does, then the Cardinals really only need to win Carpenter's Game 5 start. There is no way that the Rangers fall down 0-2, win two of three in Texas and then come back to win two in St. Louis.

That's just too tall of an order to expect to do that against a team that made the World Series.

Now, why do I think the Rangers will win tonight? 

Well, let's start with what happened against Tampa Bay. They lost the first game against a hot Rays team, but came back to even the series. So, who's to say that that won't happen again?

The Rangers are perfectly capable of winning games on the road. Actually, over the last two postseasons, they have been far better on the road.

So, why is this matchup so important? Well, look at it this way.

If the Cardinals win, then they are up 2-0. It's really hard to think that they won't at least get back to St. Louis for a Game 6 with a series lead. Conversely, if the Rangers win, all they need to do is win two of three in Texas to be up 3-2 in a Game 6.

Game 2 and Game 6 are the only games in a seven game series where the projected pitching matchups are exactly the same.

Game 1 and Game 5 feature the same pitchers, but they are in different locations. That is not the case with Game 2 and Game 6.

So, just simply do the math and play the odds. The winner of this game will have a pretty good outlook on the series. One way or another, the best chances are far and away for the winner of this game to win in six.