The Cardinals won a World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by David Freese and six innings from Chris Carpenter. "This whole ride, this team deserves this," said Freese, who added the Series MVP award to his trophy as the NL championship MVP.

David Freese homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Cardinals forced the World Series to a Game 7 by rallying from two-run deficits against the Rangers in the 9th and 10th on Thursday night, winning 10-9.

Mike Napoli delivered the biggest hit of his charmed season, lining a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning that sent the Rangers past the Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night for a 3-2 edge. "We're a focused group," Michael Young said. "We're hungry. We're looking forward to Game 6. We've already been to their park so we know what to expect."

Given a pep talk by Rangers manager Ron Washington minutes before the game, Derek Holland threw two-hit ball for 8 1/3 innings to beat the Cardinals 4-0 on Sunday night and even the World Series at 2-all, according to an ESPN.com report.

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 to lead the Cardinals to a 16-7 rout of the Texas Rangers on Saturday night that gave St. Louis a 2-1 Series lead. Two days after being criticized for his silence following a crucial error in Game 2, Pujols did the talking with his bat.

Jason Motte and the Cardinals' bullpen failed to hold on this time, allowing the Rangers to tie the World Series at a game apiece. With the Cardinals on the verge of winning the first two games, Motte allowed consecutive singles to open the ninth inning, and sacrifice flies by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young lifted the Rangers to a 2-1 victory Thursday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

Nelson Cruz sprinted over to the foul line, desperately trying to run down Allen Craig's tailing liner. The right fielder came up just short, and so did the Rangers. Craig's pinch-hit drive landed an inch or two in front of Cruz's outstretched glove for a go-ahead single off reliever Alexi Ogando in the sixth inning that carried the Cardinals over the Rangers 3-2 Wednesday in a chilly World Series opener.

David Freese hit a three-run homer in the first and manager Tony La Russa turned again to his bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis captured its 18th pennant with a 12-6 win over the Brewers on Sunday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

Nelson Cruz and the Rangers are headed to their second straight World Series, finishing off the Tigers with a huge offensive burst to become the AL's first repeat champion in a decade. Cruz set a postseason record with his sixth home run of the series, Michael Young hit a pair of two-run doubles in a nine-run third inning, and the Rangers romped to a 15-5 win Saturday night that won the AL pennant in six games.

The way the Brewers bumbled defensively, another short start didn't slow the Cardinals. Milwaukee made four errors that led to three unearned runs, and the Cardinals bullpen pitched brilliantly again to survive an early exit by Jaime Garcia in a 7-1 victory Friday night that gave St. Louis a 3-2 NLCS lead.