FEDERAL LEAGUE - LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

GAME 1: PHILLIES 2 CARDINALS 6

Albert Pujols hit a two-run HR off Roger Clemens in the first inning before Clemens settled down. There would be no more scoring for the Phillies. The Cardinals manufactured one run in the third with Bobby Abreu singling and stealing second, moving to third on a groundout and scoring on an Ichiro Suzuki sacrifice fly. The big damage came in the seventh when Derrek Lee hit a two-run HR to put the Cards up 3-2. After that, the St Louis offense continued pouring it on and by the end of the inning it was 6-2 and that's how it ended.

W - Clemens (1-0)
L - Smoltz (0-1)
MVP - Lee: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI


GAME 2: PHILLIES 4 CARDINALS 6

The Phillies again took the early lead with a Pujols solo shot in the top of the first. Ichiro tripled and scored in the bottom of the first to tie it up. In the fourth, Phillies starter Rich Harden loaded the bases then uncorked a wild pitch to score a Cardinals run. An RBI single from Antonio Perez made it 3-1. In the sixth, Perez doubled home a run and Placido Polanco singled home two more for a 6-1 Cardinals lead. The Phillies made a game of it with three runs in the eighth before Jason Varitek grounded into an inning-ending double play. With two outs in the ninth, the Phillies rallied again, loading the bases before Brad Lidge struck out Jim Edmonds to end the game.

W - Zito (1-0)
L - Harden (0-1)
S - Lidge (1)
MVP - Perez: 2-4, 2 RBI


GAME 3: CARDINALS 5 PHILLIES 11

The Phillies kept up their trend of scoring in the first inning with two runs. The Cardinals tied it in the second on a Jhonny Peralta HR. In the third, Pujols continued his trend, homering for the third straight game. Neither Aaron Heilman nor Noah Lowry was very effective - after six innings it was tied at five apiece but from there it was all Phillies. Jim Edmonds and Pat Burrell both homered in the seventh and Pujols and Marco Scutaro added RBI singles in the eighth to close the scoring while Arthur Rhodes shut down the Cardinals' offense.

W - Rhodes (1-0)
L- Lowry (0-1)
MVP - Pujols: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI


GAME 4: CARDINALS 4 PHILLIES 3

The Cardinals' Freddy Garcia pitched eight strong innings, beating the Phillies at home. The Cards got the scoring started in the third when Bobby Abreu doubled, stole third, and scored on an Antonio Perez sacrifice fly to put the Cardinals on the board. An inning later, Victor Martinez added a run with a solo HR. The Phillies threatened in the fifth, loading the bases with one out before settling for only one run. The red-hot Albert Pujols grounded out to end the threat. Pujols then made a costly error an inning later to put Derrek Lee on base before another Martinez HR put the Cards up 4-1. The Phillies plated a run in their half of the sixth and another in the seventh, both on sacrifice flies, to pull within one. Jason Varitek singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and made it around to third base with two outs before Brad Lidge induced the game-ending groundout to give the Cardinals a 3-1 series advantage.

W - Garcia (1-0)
L - Myers (0-1)
S - Lidge (2)
MVP - Martinez: 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI

GAME 5: CARDINALS 5 PHILLIES 7

Looking to clinch the series, the Cardinals got out to the early lead, scoring in the first and twice more in the second. After balking in a run, Smoltz settled down and made it through six innings. Clemens was cruising until the Rocket exploded in the sixth, allowing a five-run rally to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead. Chase Utley added a two-run HR an inning later to give the Phils all the runs they would need. Jhonny Peralta slugged a two-run HR in the eighth but Rafael Betancourt set the Cards down 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the victory and keep the Phillies alive heading back to St Louis.

W - Rusch (1-0)
L - Clemens (1-1)
MVP - Utley: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI


GAME 6: PHILLIES 8 CARDINALS 10

It certainly wasn't pretty but surprise starter Tim Hudson earned the win in the series clinching game. Hudson issued four walks, a wild pitch, a throwing error and a grand slam to Pat Burrell in the top of the first inning before settling down for the next four innings. Ken Griffey got the Cardinals back in the contest with a three-run HR in the bottom of the first and Suzuki and Lee added a pair of RBI doubles in the second to tie the score at five apiece. St Louis took the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs to make it 7-5. Albert Pujols knocked in his eighth run of the series in the sixth to pull within one but an RBI single from Victor Martinez in the sixth cushioned the lead once again for the Cards. Aramis Ramirez led off the the seventh with a solo shot against Brad Lidge to close the gap again but the Cardinals pushed another run across in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Fultz, seeing his first action of the series for the Cards, pitched a perfect eighth and the home team tacked on yet another run in their half of the inning to go up by three. Matt Miller came on for the ninth to preserve the victory and after allowing a leadoff HR to Pujols, he induced three harmless groundouts to send St Louis to the World Series for the fourth time in as many seasons.

W - Hudson (1-0)
L - Harden (0-2)
S - Miller (1)
MVP - Griffey: 1-3, HR, 5 RBI

SERIES MVP - Victor Martinez: 440/2/6, 7 R


As expected it will be a Cardinals/Yankees World Series. This is the Yankees' first World Series appearance. Here is a summary of their League Championship Series:

GAME 1: Mets 9-7
Andy Pettitte got pounded and took the loss; Robinson Tejeda got pounded in relief.

GAME 2: Yankees 10-3
Tom Glavine pitched well; Coco Crisp 4 RBI.

GAME 3: Mets 10-0
Randy Johnson and Billy Wagner combined for one-hitter, a first-inning leadoff single.

GAME 4: Yankees 4-2
Roy Oswalt pitched well; Mariano Rivera earned save; Crisp HR.

GAME 5: Yankees 8-6
Pettitte earned the win but the big day came from Rafael Furcal with 6 RBI.

GAME 6: Yankees 5-4
Clinched with a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.


SERIES MVP - Rafael Furcal: 300/2/8, 5 R