Cardinals punch ticket to World Series

MILWAUKEE -- An afterthought in early September, the St. Louis Cardinals needed every last win just to reach the postseason. Now, this wild ride is headed to the World Series.

"We believe," third baseman David Freese said. "I think that's what you've got to do in this game. We've got a group of guys with some talent, desire, and just a ton of heart."

Freese hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and manager Tony La Russa turned again to his brilliant bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis won its 18th pennant with a 12-6 victory over the bumbling Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Albert Pujols and the wild-card Cardinals took out the heavily favored Phillies in the first round, then dispatched the division rival Brewers on their own turf in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

"I mean, you could have never known," Pujols said.

Freese, often overlooked in a lineup anchored by All-Stars, batted .545 with three homers and nine RBIs to earn series Most Valuable Player honors.

Seeking its second title in six seasons, St. Louis opens the World Series at home Wednesday with ace Chris Carpenter on the mound against the American League champion Texas Rangers.

"Your goal is to win it," Pujols said. "Nobody talks about second place. Everybody talks about who wins it."

Trailing by 10½ games in the wild-card race on Aug. 25, the Cardinals surged down the stretch and took advantage of a monumental collapse by Atlanta to win a playoff spot on the final night of the regular season.

In a twist of fate, it was Philadelphia that helped them into the playoffs by gaining a three-game sweep of the Braves.

"Improbable, incredible, overwhelming," La Russa said. "This one here has its own mark, because coming from that far back is historic I think. That's what they tell me. And having to win on the road, Philadelphia, these guys."

Now, bolstered by a group of no-name relievers who keep answering La Russa's call, the Cardinals are back in the World Series for the first time since beating Detroit in 2006.

"Well, it was crazy," outfielder Matt Holliday said. "We had a lot of adversity, but we found a way."

It was a disappointing end to a scintillating season for Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and the NL Central champion Brewers, who finished with a franchise-record 96 wins, six games ahead of St. Louis.

Baseball's best home team collapsed in the NLCS, though, losing twice at Miller Park in an error-filled flop. It was likely Fielder's final game with the Brewers, too. He can become a free agent after the season.

"I had to clear the throat once, but it was all right. I love these guys," said Fielder, a first-round draft pick in 2002. "I've been playing with most of them since I was 18. So this organization has been great to me."

Rafael Furcal and Pujols hit solo home runs off Chris Narveson, and St. Louis built a 9-4 lead by the time the bullpen took over for Edwin Jackson in the third inning.

The group of Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, Lance Lynn and Jason Motte allowed two runs the rest of the way. For the series, St. Louis relievers finished 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA over 28 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals needed a shutout from Carpenter to beat the Phillies 1-0 in Game 5 of the NL division series, but took control of this series by jumping out to early leads and letting the bullpen lead the way.

La Russa called on his relievers 28 times in the NLCS, and Jackson's start was the shortest of the postseason for the Cardinals rotation, which finished the NLCS with a 7.66 ERA. St. Louis became the first team to win a postseason series without a starter reaching the sixth inning, according to STATS LLC.

Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks and Jonathan Lucroy homered for the Brewers, who won a major league-most 57 times at home this season and four straight in the postseason before losing NLCS Game 2.

It was the two ugly defensive performances that will likely linger for Milwaukee, which committed four errors in a 7-1 loss in Game 5 and added three more in Game 6.

"You can't get away with mistakes to them, and we made way too many mistakes," manager Ron Roenicke said.

The Brewers' biggest hitters -- Braun, Fielder and Weeks -- finished 1-for-12 in Game 6. Fielder received a standing ovation in his final at-bat in the eighth. He grounded out and slowly walked back to the dugout with his head down.