Cards win Game 6 at Busch
The St. Louis Cardinals twice were down to their final strike but rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 10-9 on an 11th inning homer by David Freese. That ended a four-hour, 33-minute classic Game 6 that began with a rash of errors but will be remembered as the game in which the Cardinals refused to go away.
As a result of Freese's heroics, the baseball season will go to a Game 7 tonight. It's the first time since 2002 that the World Series will go the distance, ending the longest gap in baseball history.
The Cardinals are the first team in the history of the World Series to score runs in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Freese delivered the first walkoff homer in Cards World Series history. Freese called his big hit "an incredible feeling."
The Rangers took the lead in the seventh on back-to-back home runs by Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz. But the Cardinals chipped away and tied it with two in the ninth on an opposite-field triple by Freese.
Then Josh Hamilton's two-run homer in the 10th put the Rangers ahead 9-7. It was the first home run in 82 at-bats for Hamilton, who was playing despite a groin injury.
But the Cardinals tied it with two runs in the bottom of the 10th. Lance Berkman, who hit a two-run homer earlier, tied it with a two-out single in the 10th.
The Rangers will pitch Matt Harrison, who lost Game 3, tonight. Cards manager Tony La Russa must decide whether to send ace Chris Carpenter to the mound on short rest tonight or start Kyle Lohse or Edwin Jackson.
Police believe three groups behind "knock out" game
St. Louis police believe that three loosely knit groups are behind several unprovoked attacks. The attacks are part of what is known as a "knockout game," in which an innocent victim is attacked at random.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reportsthat police say participants typically range in age from 12 to 18. The sole motive is apparently the thrill of beating someone to the ground. Police say some Roosevelt High School students who have been suspended for fighting have been behind several of the attacks.
In April, a 72-year-old man died after an assault near his home. And last week, Mayor Francis Slay and his police bodyguard drove up just after a random attack on a 51-year-old man. The mayor called for help.
Missouri Highway Patrol still searching for missing trooper
The continuing search for a missing Missouri Highway Patrol trooper has moved to a washed out area in Holt County. Trooper Frederick Guthrie and his dog, Reed, disappeared Aug. 1 near Big Lake as they were patrolling areas flooded by the Missouri River. Authorities think they were swept away by the water.
The dog's body was found Aug. 2.
Searchers began draining a washed-out area in Holt County near Mound City on Thursday. Pumps took out about 900,000 gallons an hour from a four-acre hole caused by the floods. Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg says most of the water should be gone by late Saturday. He says the patrol remains committed to finding Guthrie's body.