If Game 3 was Albert Pujols night then Game 5 of the World Series certainly was Mike Napoli night in Arlington.
The Rangers catcher, whose already had quite a postseason hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 8th inning to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead and put them ahead for good.
Texas now has a 3-2 series lead over the St. Louis Cardinals as they look to capture their first world title in franchise history as the series shifts back to St. Louis for Game 6.
St. Louis certainly had their opportunities in this game though.
The Cardinals got out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning as Rangers left fielder David Murphy and starter C.J. Wilson both made fielding errors that contributed to Cardinals runs.
However, St. Louis couldn’t take advantage of base runners as they ended up leaving a total of 12 runners on base, including bases loaded situations in which they couldn’t get a runner past home plate.
C.J. Wilson, who may of pitched his final game as a Ranger went 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits while walking 5 and striking out 3.
Chris Carpenter on the other hand went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4.
Octavio Dotel ended up picking up the loss for the Cards while Darren Oliver got the win for the Rangers.
Ref: MLB.com, Sporting News,