Texas back on track?
Betting tips 
/ Ed Wyatt / 24 October 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
Do the Cardinals go back to St. Louis ready to clinch the World Series in front of the home fans or do the Rangers hit the road, hoping to steal one of the final two games?
Much to Ed Wyatt's relief, the Texas Rangers fought back to win Game Four 4-0, though once again the game refused to follow any script.
A day after Rangers' pitchers gave up 16 runs on 15 hits, Derek Holland pitched a superb 8 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits and no runs.
Edwin Jackson was good for St. Louis as well, only giving up three hits, although he walked seven. Reliever Mitchell Boggs gave up a massive three-run home run to Mike Napoli in the sixth inning that put the game out of reach.
The series is now tied at 2-2, with one more game at the Ballpark and at least one back at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Under the 2-3-2 format, 34 previous World Series have been tied 2-2, and interestingly, the team with home field advantage has won the title 21 times.
If that statistic isn't enough to make you believe in St. Louis, then check out who's pitching in Game Five: Cardinals' ace Chris Carpenter, who is 6-0 in his last nine starts, with an ERA of 2.00. Carpenter won Game One, pitching six strong innings, and has been the Cards' go-to guy the entire post-season.
Texas once again hopes its best pitcher - at least in the regular season - CJ Wilson, can get untracked. He was 16-7 in the regular season (8-3 at home) with an ERA of 2.94.
However, Wilson has struggled in the playoffs, going 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA. In Game One, he didn't make it out of the fifth inning, allowing three runs on four hits. He also walked six batters.
Game Four was pretty much a must-win for the Rangers, who didn't want to face a 3-1 deficit. Now that the series is dead even, Game Five becomes pivotal.
Do the Cardinals go back to St. Louis ready to clinch the World Series in front of the home fans, or do the Rangers hit the road, hoping to steal one of the final two games?
The only certainty in this one is that something unpredictable will probably happen.
Carpenter has been phenomenal, but he's won three straight starts only once in the last two seasons. At some point you'd think the Ranger bats will get to him.
Back Texas at $1.77 or better.
