The St. Louis Cardinals, a team that many thought was going to be on the outside looking in when the playoffs rolled around won the National League pennant Sunday night when they defeated the NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers.
Cardinals third baseman David Freese hit a three run home run in the top of the first inning as Tony LaRussa turned things over to his shut down bullpen to deliver St. Louis’ 18th NL title.
Speaking of Freese, he won the NLCS MVP Award. He hit .545 (12 for 22) with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs.
10.5 games back of the NL Wild Card race on August 25th the Cardinals soared down the stretch of the season and combined with a monumental collapse by the Atlanta Braves earned their ticket to the MLB postseason.
St. Louis may also be the most impressive team in the postseason disposing of the heavily favored Phillies then taking car of the Brewers in six games.
St. Louis now heads back home looking to capture its second World Series title in six years when they host the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday night.
Ref: ESPN (image), Associated Press