politburo diktat 2.0

Mets Are Called Out; Cards Head to World Series - New York Times

The Mets’ glorious swath through the National League ended abruptly last night, done in by the St. Louis Cardinals and their own underperforming lineup.

Yadier Molina slammed a two-run, tie-breaking homer off Aaron Heilman with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and a berth in the World Series in front of a dejected crowd of 56,357 at Shea Stadium.

Rolen clocked the first pitch to deep left, a sure home run, the crowd figured, as it fell silent. Chávez judged the arc and, measuring his leap, jumped backwards against the fence. Chávez’s right elbow touched the top of the wall as he snared the ball before it landed in the Cardinals’ bullpen.

Edmonds was halfway toward third when Chávez caught it, landing against a sign reading, “The Strength To Be There,” and the Mets doubled him off first to end the inning.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Beltrán said.

As the crowd roared, every Met on the field waited near first base to congratulate Chávez. Across the diamond, Rolen stood dumbfounded, helmet off, waiting for a teammate to bring him his glove.