Rangers Answer with a Win

After a historic offense performance in game three, the Cardinals got shut-out by the young lefty Derek Holland in game four. The pitcher tossed eight and one third scoreless innings striking out seven and allowing just two hits to the potent St. Louis line-up in his team's 4-0 victory.

In a must-win game, Holland entered with a 5.27 ERA and a .316 opponents' batting average in three starts and one relief appearance this postseason. A pregame pep talk by Manager Ron Washington, a RBI double by Josh Hamilton in the first and a three-run homer in the sixth from Mike Napoli propelled Holland into prominence.  Holland did not want to leave the game when his manager approached the mound in the ninth, "He was begging," said Washington when asked about the moment in his post-game press conference.

"I just wanted to make sure I could go out there and execute all of my pitches," Holland said to the media. "That was the main thing. I wanted to go right after these hitters. I wanted to show that I belong here. ... I wanted to make a name for myself, and at the same time get momentum back on our side.”

Game five is tonight at Rangers Ballpark. It’s a rematch of the series opener when Cardinal’s ace Chris Carpenter topped C.J. Wilson. "If you want to choose somebody from the St. Louis Cardinals to pitch [Game 5], it's Chris," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said Sunday night. "I mean, there isn't anything [to Carpenter] about pitching on the road in a hostile environment. I think he actually likes it, pitches better. His problem is going to be good hitters, and he'll have to pitch effectively.”

The opposite could be said about the ace from Texas, in the 2011 postseason, over four starts, Wilson is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA. Washington defended his ace saying, "Yes, he's struggled in the postseason this year, but we still feel that the next time he takes the ball is the time we'll see the C.J. that we know we have."

The only thing that can be said for certain is that game five is sure to be unpredictable.