Deviating from the trend of nail-biting NLCS battles, the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-0, in Friday night's Game 6 to clinch the 2013 National League pennant.
Closer Trevor Rosenthal brought the series to an end with this strikeout of A.J. Ellis:
Pandemonium followed.
Raise the flag! NL Champs! #PostCards https://t.co/gWAUVDzj8F
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 19, 2013
I love my team, no doubt about it, & I hope the Cards win the World Series, they earned it #classy
— Marissa Lopez (@Marisssaahh) October 19, 2013
Cards win! This calls for a celebration, I mean FIREWORKS
— karter denman (@kartershipley) October 19, 2013
My sister got this awesome pic! Go cards!! pic.twitter.com/DWPo5v67G7
— Courtney Quinn (@CornbreadQuinn) October 19, 2013
The sell-out crowd of 46,899 who made it to Busch Stadium certainly enjoyed the moment. They stayed around for a while to see manager Mike Matheny hoisting the NL champions trophy, and Michael Wacha accepting the NLCS MVP award:
The skipper and his trophy. pic.twitter.com/VEqEfPMamT
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2013
Wacha! Wacha! Wacha! @MichaelWacha #NLCS MVP pic.twitter.com/LWYpV5yERb
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) October 19, 2013
The rookie right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings to out-duel Clayton Kershaw for the second time in the series.
The action moved to the home clubhouse, where the players soaked their grass stains and sweat with some ice-cold refreshments:
No one is safe from @Joe_Kelly_Jr. #PostCards https://t.co/GPQvQAXWZb
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 19, 2013
Even some Bleacher Report MLB writers who weren't on the Cardinals bandwagon couldn't resist acknowledging their accomplishment:
Is anybody else just completely blown away by the #STLCards? As a Reds' fan, and a general baseball fan, I tip my proverbial cap..
— Tyler Duma (@TylerDuma) October 19, 2013
Congrats Cards, truly astonishing what this organization has accomplished. Now shaddup
— Gabe Zaldivar (@gabezal) October 19, 2013
ESPN Stats & Info reminds us that a World Series berth is nothing new for this proud franchise:
Cardinals: 19th World Series appearance all-time, tied for most in NL history (with Giants) and 2nd in MLB history (to Yankees)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 19, 2013
St. Louis has been especially successfully over the past decade:
The @Cardinals are headed back to the #WorldSeries, 4th trip in past 10 years. http://t.co/SeHoFTs66p pic.twitter.com/jR2JjvwNun
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) October 19, 2013
The Red Birds won their most recent championship in 2011, overcoming the Texas Rangers in a seven-game epic. We can only hope that the Boston Red Sox or Detroit Tigers—whomever emerges from the American League—provide us with an equally dramatic matchup.
The 2013 World Series begins next Wednesday night at the home of the AL pennant winner.
Ely is a national MLB Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a sportscaster for 90.5 WVUM in Miami. He’s hoping to deepen relationships with his fantastic online audience (that means you) via Twitter.
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