Tigers, Cardinals hold breath for Game 4
Jim Leyland's lungs will be in even worse shape if rain washes out Game Four of the World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals yet again.
After Wednesday's Game Four was rained out in St. Louis - the first washout in the Fall Classic in a decade - the Cardinals and Tigers will pick up their series Thursday night, weather permitting.
"I smoked about a carton (of cigarettes Wednesday)," Tigers manager Leyland said. "It was probably one of the worst days of the year - for my lungs."
Were the game to take place, St. Louis will look to take a commanding three games to one lead behind Jeff Suppan, while Detroit will try to even the series behind Jeremy Bonderman.
Both pitchers were scheduled to start Wednesday, but those plans were altered by an incessant rain that caused the game to be delayed 1 hour, 51 minutes before it was called at 9:18 p.m. local time.
"It (stinks), but it is what it is," Bonderman said. "Everybody tried to get the game in. We waited as long as we could, I think. I think it's the right decision. You don't want to get anybody hurt and you want the fans to be able to enjoy the game."
The Tigers need to regroup from a 5-0 defeat in Game Three in which they were three-hit by Chris Carpenter and Braden Looper. The reigning Cy Young Award winner, Carpenter allowed just three singles over eight dominant innings before Looper finished up.
Jim Edmonds had a two-run double for the Cardinals, who also plated a pair of runs on a throwing error by Tigers rookie pitcher Joel Zumaya in the seventh.
St. Louis was hoping to keep the momentum going behind Suppan, who allowed one run and five hits in 15 innings against the New York Mets to earn NLCS MVP honors. He was sensational in Game Seven, yielding one run and two hits in seven-plus frames of the 3-1 triumph.
Bonderman was the Tigers' starting pitcher in their series-clinching victories against the New York Yankees in the ALDS and the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS. He has posted a 3.00 ERA and held opponents to a .196 batting average over those two outings.
But pitching is not why Detroit trails in this series. After averaging 5.5 runs in their first eight games of its first playoff appearance since 1987, the Tigers have scored just five times while hitting .185 against the Cardinals.
However, the Tigers may not get a chance to regroup Thursday as rain once again is in the forecast. The case is the same again Friday, originally scheduled to be an off day, creating the possibility that the series may not resume until Saturday.
"That's the way it goes. You can't control Mother Nature sometimes," Detroit first baseman Sean Casey said. "The weather just didn't cooperate. I think the (right decision was made), as far as guys getting hurt or wasting a starter or having a five-inning World Series game. I don't think anyone wants that."
The last time the World Series had a game postponed due to rain was in 1996, when the opener between the Atlanta Braves and Yankees was pushed back a day.
"We take days off, we don't, it doesn't matter. As long as we're here and playing in the World Series, that's all that matters," St. Louis closer Adam Wainwright added. "We've done this a lot of times. We'll come to the park ready to play (Thursday)."
