Chris Carpenter Will Start Game 7

Chris Carpenter will take the ball tonight for the Cardinals in game seven of the World Series.  The St. Louis Dispatch is reporting that the decision to pitch Carpenter has been made, though no official word has been released by the Cardinals.  Carpenter, who pitched game five for St. Louis, will be making Friday’s start on only three days’ rest.

Wednesday night’s rainout made it possible for Carpenter to pitch in three of the seven World Series contests.  Carpenter took the mound in game one, picking up the victory after holding the Rangers to two runs on five hits over his six innings of work.  The veteran was a touch better statistically Wednesday, allowing two runs in seven frames, but took the no-decision.

Before Thursday’s game six, Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa was adamant that he would not look ahead until the series was extended to a final game.  The skipper’s decision to not announce who his final starter would be left us wondering who would get the call.

Carpenter ultimately beat out rotation-mates Edwin Jackson and Kyle Lohse for the opportunity to start tonight’s finale.  Jake Westbrook, another possible starter heading into Thursday’s game, logged a scoreless inning of relief last night, removing him from consideration.

Overall, Carpenter has been impressive during the Cardinals playoff run.  If you take out his first game against the Phillies in which he allowed four runs over only three innings, Carpenter has a postseason ERA of 2.33.

Carpenter’s held the Rangers to four runs over 13 innings in his two World Series starts, and no one can forget his epic matchup with Roy Halladay during game five of the NLDS.  The Cardinals are hoping it will be more of the same from Carpenter tonight as they look to lock up their second World Series championship in six years.

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