Last night’s game between the Cardinals and Tigers certainly lacked the feeling of a 2006 World Series contest. No throwing errors by Detroit pitchers. No key hits by David Eckstein. No dirt-like substance on Kenny Rogers’ hand. And a 14-4 pounding of St. Louis by the Tigers.
A nine-run fifth inning for Detroit ended this one earlier than expected. The Tigers sent 13 hitters to the dish in that frame, and the bottom of fifth clocked in at just under 30 minutes.
The 14 runs scored by the Tigers was three more than they plated in the entire 2006 Fall Classic. One player not on last year’s postseason roster was Gary Sheffield, who made sure his new team got off on the right foot by blasting a Braden Looper pitch over the left-field wall in the bottom half of the first to give Detroit a quick 2-0 advantage.
Looper (5-3) took the loss, going just four innings in his shortest outing of the year. Albert Pujols was the only Cardinal to collect more than one hit, upping his batting average to .265 with a 4-for-4 night.
