One to go for Cards

David Eckstein was the hero for St Louis as he scored the vital run with a dramatic double in the eighth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 victory over Detroit and put them on the brink of winning the World Series.

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Eckstein’s two-out blast, his fourth hit and third double of the night, deflected off the fingertips of Detroit leftfielder Craig Monroe as he dived despairingly.

The World Series may also not be just out of reach of the Tigers.

The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in Major League Baseball’s  best-of-seven final and can clinch their 10th title, the first since  1982, by winning game five, also in St Louis, on Friday.
  
But the Tigers, seeking their first title since 1984, and Cardinals know the fragile nature of a 3-1 Series edge.
  

Monroe close, but not close enough
Monroe close, but not close enough
Monroe close, but not close enough

Detroit beat St. Louis in the 1968 Series by winning the last three games and the most recent team to blow a 3-1 Series lead was St. Louis in 1985.
  
The Cardinals broke a 4-4 deadlock when Miles reached on a  fielder’s choice, took second on a dropped third strike that went  through the catcher’s legs and scored on Eckstein’s hit.
  
Adam Wainwright retired Detroit in order in the ninth for the save that touched off a wild celebration from a sellout crowd at the Cardinals’ first-year ballpark.
  
Two Detroit fielding blunders helped the Cardinals seize a 4-3  lead in the seventh, the first coming when Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson slipped and fell going after a fly ball to give  leadoff hitter Eckstein a double.

St. Louis inserted outfielder So Taguchi as a pinch-hitter and the Japanese standout delivered a perfect bunt down the first-base line.
  
Tigers’ pitcher Fernando Rodney grabbed the ball but his throw sailed over the outstretched arm of Placido Polanco covering first base, allowing Eckstein to score the tying run and Taguchi to take second base.
  
It was the fourth error in as many games by Detroit’s pitching staff, an ignoble Series record.
  

The Cardinals' Adam Wright fires up
The Cardinals’ Adam Wright fires up
The Cardinals’ Adam Wright fires up

After being postponed from Wednesday due to rain, the game was only the fourth in 12 days for the Tigers, who swept Oakland in the American League final for a week’s layoff before starting the World Series.
  
The Tigers seek their first World Series title since 1984 after  12 losing seasons in a row, including an American League-record 119  losses in 2003.
  
The Cardinals would have the worst record of any World Series champion after a late-season fade to 83-78 that nearly cost them a playoff spot.