New York – For eight-plus innings and more than three hours Thursday night, Shea Stadium vibrated with noise and overflowed with confidence.
But when St. Louis rookie closer Adam Wainwright struck out Mets slugger Carlos Beltran looking at a backdoor curveball in the bottom of the ninth, Shea went dead silent – except for the private party being thrown by the jubilant Cardinals in the middle of the infield.
On the wings of catcher Yadier Molina’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth and another gritty postseason performance by starter Jeff Suppan, the Cardinals beat the heavily favored Mets 3-1 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
The Cardinals advanced to their 17th World Series, where they’ll face the American League champion Detroit Tigers beginning Saturday at Comerica Park. The Tigers and Cardinals last met in the 1968 Series, with the Tigers prevailing in seven games.
“It was unbelievable, the best moment of my life,” Molina said in the delirious Cards clubhouse.
Although the Cardinals stumbled down the stretch during the regular season, losing nine of their last 12 games, manager Tony La Russa never lost faith.
“We kept telling ourselves, if we get to October, we’ll be a dangerous team to play,” he said.
Suppan, who won Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS for the Cardinals against Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros, was named series MVP. In seven innings, he gave up one run on just two hits, with both hits coming in the first inning.
“When you go out in a game like this, all you can do is your best, that’s the only way you can approach it,” said Suppan, 1-0, 0.60 ERA in two NLCS starts.
La Russa and Mets manager Willie Randolph called Thursday’s game a classic, and indeed it was. There was enough drama to stuff a soap opera.
Through eight innings, the Mets and Cardinals remained deadlocked 1-1 before Molina hit his game-winner off reliever Aaron Heilman. Though Heilman had just given up a single to Scott Rolen, Randolph decided to stick with him instead of bringing in closer Billy Wagner.
“I thought Aaron had a nice eighth inning and he was throwing the ball pretty well,” Randolph said. “With all the righties coming up, I thought we could get another inning out of him and bring Billy in after that.”
The defining moment of the game will be Molina’s homer, but the greatest play belonged to Mets left fielder Endy Chavez.
Chavez stole a potential two-run homer from Rolen in the sixth. With Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds on first, Rolen crushed a line drive. Chavez ran toward the wall at full speed, timed his leap and took flight. He snared Rolen’s drive above the wall, the ball snow-coning in the web of his glove. Coming back to earth, he fired the ball to shortstop Jose Valentin, who threw to Carlos Delgado, doubling up Edmonds.
“That Chavez play will be replayed forever,” La Russa said.
Mets starter Oliver Perez – whose 3-13 regular season record had some calling him the worst pitcher to start a seventh game – gave the Mets more than they could have hoped for. He stayed six innings, allowed just one run on four hits and struck out four.
“He was tremendous for us,” Randolph said. “He gave us more than we expected, really.”
In the fifth, the Cardinals appeared primed to bust the game open. With two outs and two on, Perez got all-star Albert Pujols to pop out to shortstop Reyes.
The Mets struck first, staking a 1-0 lead in the first on David Wright’s bloop to right that drove in Beltran, who got on with a hustling double. But after that rough inning, Suppan took control.
St. Louis snuck back to tie the game with a run in the second. Edmonds singled, moved to third on Molina’s bloop single to left and scored when Ronnie Belliard caught the Mets off-guard with a sacrifice bunt to the right side of the mound.
Staff writer Patrick Saunderscan be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
