Rangers 4 Cardinals 2: Mike Napoli Brings Rangers Within Touching Distance of World Series Win
Mike Napoli, catcher and first baseman for the Texas Rangers, helped clinch a Game 5 win in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. The 4-2 win over the Cardinals was set in stone by Napoli’s two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The game was a historical one for Napoli, who has now joined Mickey Mantle as the second player with four multi-RBI World Series games.
Napoli said he was focused on hitting a run, when a good pitch came his way. "I was just trying to get something to the outfield," Napoli told FOX. "Get a sac fly, get that run across the board. I was trying to stay short and I got a pitch I could handle over the middle of the plate and put it in the gap."
Napoli was not the only Ranger who contributed to the team’s win on Monday night. Before Napoli’s double runs, third baseman Adrian Beltre hit his first home run since the AL Division Series.
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"The previous at-bat he threw me two breaking balls that I saw pretty good, so I was hoping he'd throw me another one a little higher," Beltre said on FOX. "And he did and I was able to put a good swing on it."
If the Rangers manage to beat the Cardinals in Game 6, the team will win its first World Series in franchise history. Beltre was confident in his team’s ability to do so, and told FOX that they were in a better position than their opponents.
"It's not going to be easy, we know that," Beltre said. "...But it's better to go over there needing to win one game of two games than going over there to try to win two."
Game 6 will take place on Wednesday night at the Cardinals’ home Busch Stadium.
