Cardinals Reach World Series in 'Baseball Miracle'

If you told someone this in August he wouldn’t have believed you, but the St. Louis Cardinals are going to the World Series. The Cardinals clobbered the Milwaukee Brewers 12-6, completing a 4-2 NLCS win—and a wild ride that defied all probability. With just 31 games left to play this year, the Cardinals were 10.5 back in the race for the postseason, so “this World Series is an official baseball miracle,” writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.

Of course, it didn’t look terribly unlikely last night. The Cardinals jumped to a 4-0 lead thanks to a three-run homer from David Freese, knocking out starter Shaun Marcum in the first. The Brewers battled back briefly in the second, but the Cardinals pulled back ahead with a four-run third and never looked back. But the Cardinals were jubilant about their unlikely journey. “It’s hard to explain man,” said Octavio Dotel. “I sit in bed and I say, ‘Wow, we’re in this spot, and I can’t believe it.’” (More St. Louis Cardinals stories.)