Baltimore began the year by sweeping Minnesota followed by the reverse against the New York Yankees. The Orioles went 6-1 in their next seven series, including taking all three games in a series at Boston, before getting pummeled by Texas 24-6 in the first two of three games. But they bounced back by winning two of three at home against Tampa Bay last weekend.

The win on Saturday gave Baltimore the distinction of being tied for the best record in the AL with the Texas Rangers.

“We found people that we can play with and we can win (with),” Orioles reliever Pedro Strop said, after pitching a perfect eighth inning of a 5-3 win over the Rays. “A lot of people are asking me, ‘Are you surprised at this team?’ We’re not surprised. We’ve been doing what we were hoping. A lot of people are surprised, but we’re not. We are going to keep winning games.”

Although their starting pitching (4.23 ERA) is not stellar from top to bottom, the Orioles have gotten solid efforts from Wei-Yin Chen (3-0, 2.43 ERA through Monday) and Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.68). But it’s the bullpen that’s really made its mark. Darren O’Day (3-0, 1.56), Matt Lindstrom (1.29) and Strop (3-1, 1.35) have been the leaders of a relieving corps that ranks second in the major leagues with a 2.28 ERA. Jim Johnson went into Tuesday’s game tied for second in the majors in saves with 11.

Offensively, the Orioles have been able to slug it out with anyone, leading the big leagues with 57 home runs (through Monday), while ranking fifth in slugging percentage at .448 and sixth in runs scored with 168. Adam Jones (10 HRs), J.J. Hardy (9) and Matt Wieters (8) have been the big boppers.

It’s early, but if the Orioles keep pounding balls out of the park while their bullpen holds onto leads, they just might stay in contention.

Hamilton’s four-homer game: It’s been more than a week since Josh Hamilton slugged four home runs in Texas’ 10-3 win at Baltimore, but it’s still worth talking about. Hamilton is the 16th major league player to hit four homers in a game, and the sixth AL player to do it.

All of his homers were two-run shots, off of three different pitchers. Hamilton’s eight RBIs were a career-high, and his 18 total bases set a new single-game AL record.

“History was witnessed tonight,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said after the game.

Hamilton went 5-for-5, getting just a double in his other at-bat. His five extra-base hits set a Texas single-game team mark.

“He’s the best athlete in baseball,” Rangers right-fielder Nelson Cruz said.

Hamilton is off to a tremendous start, batting .400 with 18 home runs and 44 RBIs through Monday, leading the majors in each category. The question is, will he ever cool off?

StatsWatch: Home run leaders (through Monday) —

• Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 18
• Carlos Beltran, Cardinals, 13
• Adam Dunn, White Sox, 12
• Curtis Granderson, Yankees, 12
• Matt Kemp, Dodgers, 12

Diamond Notes: Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson became the first pitcher to start consecutive games on Saturday since the Texas Rangers Aaron Myette on Sept. 3-4, 2002. Wilson threw to just five batters because of a long rain delay last Friday, then went 5 2/3 innings the next day, allowing five hits and two runs in the Angels 4-2 win over the Rangers…Oakland’s Brandon Inge became the first player to have four games with four or more RBIs during a five-game stretch since Lou Gehrig in 1931…Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte made his first start in the majors since 2010 in a 6-2 loss to Seattle on Sunday. Pettitte gave up four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. “I felt good,” Pettitte said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. It came back really quick.”…The Dodgers placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a strained left hamstring. Kemp’s consecutive games streak, the longest in the major leagues, was snapped at 399 on Monday. He is eligible to return on May 29 against Milwaukee…Baltimore hit three homers in its first three at-bats in last Thursday’s game against Texas. Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis started the bottom of the first inning by hitting home runs off Colby Lewis in the Orioles 6-5 win. It’s the first time that has happened in the AL. The last team to do it was the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 9, 2007.

Copyright © 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

Weaver completed his gem by getting Alexi Casilla to fly out to right fielder Torii Hunter, who caught the ball on the warning track.

“Spiderman out there,” said Weaver of Hunter. “Casilla put a charge in it and Spiderman tracked it down.”

Weaver, a California native who played at Long Beach State, struck out nine and didn’t allow a walk, throwing 121 pitches. Only one Twins batter reached base through the first seven innings, on a passed ball by catcher Chris Iannetta on strike three to Chris Parmelee. Josh Willingham drew the only walk in the seventh.

“I was locked in for the most part,” Weavers said. “I’m at a loss for words. Couldn’t have done it without the defense. The guys were picking me up left and right.”

It was the second no-hitter by an Angels’ pitcher in less than a year. Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter July 27 at Cleveland. And it was the 10th no-hitter for the Angels franchise. Nolan Ryan threw four of them.

Weaver had a chance to make it two straight no-no’s against the Twins on Monday night. But this time he allowed three hits over six innings with two strikeouts, two walks and one run allowed in the Angels 8-3 win.

“To have it happen once is pretty special,” Weaver said. “But to do it twice in a row, I don’t see it happening ever again.”

Weaver (5-0) was too tired the second time around.

“I just felt a little gassed out there towards the end of the game,” he said.

Old school: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels said he was just trying to bring back the tradition of throwing at batters when he beaned Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper on Sunday night.

But because Hamels talked about it, he received a five-game suspension along with a fine from Major League Baseball on Monday for intentionally throwing at Harper in the Phillies’ 9-3 win at Washington.

“I was trying to hit him,” Hamels said on Sunday night. “I’m not going to deny it. I’m not trying to injure the guy.”

Hamels threw a fastball that hit Harper in the first inning. Harper, 19, has enjoyed some early success since being called up to the majors.

“That’s something I grew up watching, that’s kind of what happened,” Hamels said. “So I’m just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything because that’s the way baseball is. But I think unfortunately the league’s protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball.”

Harper paid Hamels back by stealing home. Nationals’ starter Jordan Zimmerman hit Hamels with a pitch in the third inning and both dugouts were warned by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that Hamels hitting Harper was “classless.”

“Cole Hamels says he’s old school? He’s the polar opposite of old school,” Rizzo said. “He’s fake tough. He thinks he’s going to intimidate us after hitting our 19-year-old rookie who’s eight games into the big leagues? He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

Diamond Notes: San Francisco Giants reliever Guillermo Mota was suspended for 100 games on Monday for testing positive on a drug test for a second time. MLB said Mota tested positive for Clenbuterol, a stimulant that also has anabolic effects. Mota also was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2007 season. Manny Ramirez and Eliezer Alfonzo are the only other players to twice test positive. Mota was 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in nine games this season…Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth, who had surgery on his broken left wrist, will be out for up to 12 weeks. Werth is in the second year of a seven-year, $126 million deal with the Nationals. Washington has been hurt by injuries to key offensive players this year, with Michael Morse, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche all missing time…Albert Pujols snapped his homerless streak at 110 at-bats on Sunday with a two-run shot in the Angels 4-3 win over Toronto.

Copyright © 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

Darvish, who is 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA, has allowed just two earned runs in his last 21 2/3 innings in earning wins over the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Blue Jays. He is the first starting pitcher in Rangers’ history to win four of his first five games (one was a no-decision).

“I don’t expect him to go 32-0,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “But the thing about him is he will keep us in ballgames, and that’s what we want.”

In his first major league start on April 9, an 11-5 win over Seattle, Darvish was shaky, giving up four runs on 42 pitches in the first inning. But he settled down later, retiring 10 straight.

“It was pretty much a battle all night,” said Darvish, who speaks through a translator. “At the beginning of the game, my mind and body kind of weren’t on the same page.”

Since then, the 6-foot-5-inch, 216-pound Darvish went from pitching 5 2/3 innings in each of his first two starts to throwing 6 1/3, 8 1/3 and 7 on Monday. After allowing 13 walks and striking out 14 in his first three starts, Darvish has walked four and fanned 19 in his last two outings.

Monday’s win at Toronto came against the team that had shown interest in Darvish before he came to the major leagues from the Hokkaido Nippon-Han Fighters.

“Honestly, it was kind of an awkward feeling because rumor has it that this was a team that might have posted for me and there was some chance that I might have played for this team,” Darvish said. “Facing the Blue Jays, they could have been my teammates.”

Darvish, 25, was born in Habikino, Japan, to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. His talent was evident early on, and major league teams showed interest in him before the 2004 draft. But Darvish expressed his desire to play professionally in Japan.

He played on Japan’s national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In the WBC, Darvish went 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings. He got the last outs as Japan won its second straight WBC championship.

Darvish is so popular in Japan that he had to hold a press conference at the Sapporo Dome before 10,000 fans in January to tell them why he was leaving for the major leagues.

That popularity has made a seamless transition to Arlington, where a sellout crowd chanted “Yuuuuu!” in a 2-0 win over the powerful Yankees last week. His 10 strikeouts in that game were the most for a Rangers pitcher this season.

“After my last start, I mentioned my command is starting to come together,” Darvish said after that game. “Stuff-wise, there wasn’t much difference. I still like to think that there’s still more in me.”

Washington said after the Yankees game that Darvish keeps getting better every time he starts.

“Tonight, he used everything he had, and he was effective, very effective,” Washington said. “He’s getting more and more comfortable. He was pounding the strike zone. That’s what you have to do against that team. He threw everything but the kitchen sink at them.”

Darvish had the longest scoreless game by a Rangers pitcher against the Yankees since Bob Tewksbury threw a complete game shutout in 1995.

“You hear a lot of guys get hyped and he was everything that you’d heard,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said.

Darvish’s success includes his ability to throw a variety of pitches. He has a 94 to 97 mph four-seam fastball, an 80-84 mph slider, a 90-91 mph cutter, a 75 mph curveball, a two-seam fastball, change-up and splitter. He used to throw a screwball, and recently tinkered with a knuckleball while playing catch before a game.

While it’s doubtful that he’ll introduce a knuckleball anytime soon, Darvish might just be thinking ahead to later in his career.

“I’m very aware that all these hitters are seeing me for the first time,” Darvish said. “It’s only April. So I’m not thinking about how I did this month or being satisfied. Right now all I’m thinking about is preparing well for the next start.”

Darvish proved that he is human on Monday night, allowing his first home run of his major league career to Edwin Encarnacion. But his win over the Blue Jays made him only the sixth rookie pitcher since 1957 (when first rules for rookie status began) to go 4-0 or better in April, including the Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela (5-01) in 1981.

Darvish has set a couple of marks in his first month in the big leagues, and it appears the sky will be the limit before his career is over.

Copyright © 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

Humber, who was claimed off waivers by the White Sox from the Oakland A’s in January 2011, was making his second start of the season. He flirted with a no-hitter in April 2011, taking it into the seventh against the New York Yankees.

But this time he got that and more, finishing it off on a 3-2 slider that ticked off catcher A.J. Pierzynski’s glove on a check swing by pinch-hitter Brendan Ryan. Pierzynski chased after the ball and threw to first to make it official.

It was the first perfect game since Roy Halladay threw one on May 29, 2010 for Philadelphia, and the third by a White Sox pitcher, including Mark Buehrle’s gem on July 23, 2009.

Others, like Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, Don Larsen and Randy Johnson, have also thrown perfect games.

“I don’t know what Philip Humber is doing in this list,” Humber said. “I have no idea what my name is doing there. But I’m thankful it’s there.”

Humber got some help from left-fielder Brent Lillibridge, a defensive replacement, who caught a liner down the leftfield line by Kyle Seager in the eighth inning. He went to a 3-0 count against Michael Saunders to lead off the ninth before striking him out, then got John Jaso to fly out to right.

“I was more nervous than I was in the World Series,” Pierzynski said. “There was no build up to this. It just happened. And you want it so bad for the guy on the mound, and you want him to have that achievement forever. It’s a special thing that Phil did.”

Yankees comeback: Down 9-0 at Fenway Park on Saturday, the New York Yankees brought out their bats and started to hammer away. They scored sevens runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings, and ended up winning 15-9.

Mark Teixeira lashed a pair of home runs, one from each side of the plate, with six RBIs, and Nick Swisher hit a grand slam and drove in six.

It was the 13th time in his career that Teixeira homered from both sides of the plate.

“That was pretty cool,” Teixeira said. “I’ve played a lot of games and that maybe was the most fun regular-season game I’ve ever been a part of.”

It wasn’t fun for Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, who was booed upon returning to the dugout after a pitching change. After that game, Boston’s record was 11-30 since Sept. 1.

“I think we’ve hit bottom,” Valentine said. “If this isn’t bottom, we need to find some new ends of the earth.”

“Pudge” retires: Ivan Rodriguez officially announced his retirement at The Ballpark in Arlington on Monday before the Texas Rangers game against the Yankees. Rodriguez, 40, was unable to catch on with a team in spring training.

Rodriguez, who played with the Rangers, Florida, Detroit Houston, Washington and the Yankees, hit .296 in his career with 311 home runs and 1,332 RBIs. He played on the World Series champion Marlins in 2003 and in the World Series for the Tigers in 2006.

“Today is a very hard day for me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been a great, great run, 21 years has been beautiful.”

Rodriguez was a 14-time All-Star and won 13 Gold Gloves. He leads all catchers in games caught (2,427) and threw out 41.7 percent of attempted base stealers, the best since that stat started being kept in 1974.

StatsWatch: Teams with the most runs scored (through Monday) –

• Rangers, 98 runs
• Yankees, 97
• Braves, 93
• Cardinals, 84
• Blue Jays, 82
• Red Sox, 76
• Astros, 76
• Rays, 76
• Dodgers, 75
• Indians, 74

Quotable: “Huge win tonight, time for a sweep of the Royals. P.S. You hit us, we hit you. Period.” – Indians pitcher Chris Perez on his Twitter account after a game against Kansas City on April 14 in which three players were ejected. He was fined $750 by MLB for his tweet.

Diamond Notes: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A pitcher Angel Guzman has been suspended 50 games for a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment program…After Curtis Granderson went 5-for-5 with three homers and 4 RBIs in a 7-6 win over Minnesota last week, the New York Yankees improved their dominance over the Twins to 30-7 since 2002…Cincinnati’s 9-4 win over the Chicago Cubs last Friday at Wrigley Field was the 10,000th victory in franchise history…Alex Rodriguez passed Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth-place on the all-time home run list with his 631st last Friday at Boston. He had 632 going into Tuesday’s game…Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman is on the 15-day DL with a strained left calf…The Los Angeles Angels signed shortstop Erick Aybar to a four-year extension. He had career highs in homers (10), runs (71) and doubles (33) last year.

Copyright © 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason,” Valentine said after Sunday’s game, his comments aired by WHDH-TV.

Youkilis, a career .288 hitter, was batting .200 with no homers, three RBIs and eight strikeouts in 30 at-bats going into Tuesday’s game. He was limited to 112 games last season due to a number of injuries, and hit a career low .258 with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs.

Valentine said on Monday that he apologized to Youkilis.

“I don’t know if he accepted my apology. It was sincere,” Valentine said.

Youkilis spoke with reporters about Valentine’s comments before Monday’s game.

“Everyone here knows I go out and play with emotion,” Youkilis said. “The only time there has ever been a question is because I’ve been too emotional. I go out every day and play as hard as I can – take every ground ball in the morning, take every at-bat like it’s my last. I don’t think my game has changed at all. I still get upset with myself. I still get mad.”

Valentine tried to explain himself in his pregame news conference.

“I think the question was ‘It’s not Youk-like the way he’s playing,’” Valentine said. “I think that was the question I answered. I should have answered that his swing is not where he wants it to be, his swing is frustrating, it affects the emotion.”

Valentine’s original comments got the attention of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

“I really don’t know what Bobby is trying to do,” Pedroia said on Monday. That’s not the way we go about our stuff around here. He’ll figure that out. The whole team is behind Youk. We have each other’s backs here.”

Youkilis, 33, is in the last year of a four-year, $41.25 million contract.

Verlander gets first win: Justin Verlander pushed his manager’s patience on Monday night, but in the end, Jim Leyland had to be glad to let his ace pitcher finish.

With two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth and the Tigers leading 3-2 at Kansas City, Verlander hit Alcides Escobar to load the bases. But Verlander struck out Alex Gordon to get his first win of the season.

“You’re either going to win it or lose it. I’m not taking you out,” Leyland said he told the Cy Young Award winner after the eighth inning.

Verlander threw 131 pitches, fanned nine and retired 11 straight at one point in the game. Brandon Inge hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the difference.

The Tigers star pitcher, who won 24 games last year, suffered a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay and had a no decision against Boston in his two previous starts.

“I told everyone my goal this season is to be a better pitcher, even if my numbers might not be as good,” Verlander said.

Never say never: Just when things looked bleak for the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night at Chicago, they got back into the game thanks to the long ball.

The Orioles rebounded from a 4-1, eighth-inning deficit to defeat the White Sox 10-4.

Matt Wieters homered in the eighth to make it 4-2. Nolan Reimold and Adam Jones went deep in the ninth to tie it and send the game to extra innings. In the 10th, a three-base error by White Sox center fielder Alejandro De Aza on a dropped fly ball at the wall led to the go-ahead run. Wieters hit a grand slam later in the inning to put the game away.

It was Baltimore’s first win in extra innings after dropping a pair of those contests to the New York Yankees last week. The win gave the Orioles six wins in their first 10 games.

“We’ve been battling every game pretty close,” Wieters said. “It’s nice to have a big inning to kind of put some things together.”

Jones’ home run was his third in four games.

“We didn’t’ quit,” Jones said. “Once we went to extra innings, we knew that this was our game.”

The Orioles entered the game hitting .179 with runners in scoring position.

“Once you get some runs going, you stop squeezing the bat as tight and it starts to come a little bit easier,” Wieters said.

StatsWatch: A number of players have jumped out of the gate with double-digit RBIs. Here’s the list (through Monday):

• Matt Kemp, Dodgers, 16
• Andre Ethier, Dodgers, 15
• Chris Young, Diamondbacks, 13
• Adam LaRoche, Nationals, 12
• Carlos Pena, Rays, 11
• Nick Swisher, Yankees, 11
• David Freese, Cardinals, 11
• David Ortiz, Red Sox, 10
• Yadier Molina, Cardinals, 10
• Matt Carpenter, Cardinals, 10
• J.D. Martinez, Astros, 10

Diamond Notes: In a match-up of two-time Cy Young Award winners, Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay beat San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum on Monday night. Halladay (3-0) struck out six and gave up seven hits in eight innings in the Phillies 5-2 win. Lincecum (0-2) allowed four runs in the first inning, five runs overall and eight hits in six innings. Lincecum has struggled, giving up more runs in the first inning this season (nine) than he did all of last year (eight). He has a 10.54 ERA and has allowed 16 runs and 22 hits in 13 2/3 innings…Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz will have his uniform retired on June 8 before the game against Toronto. Smoltz, 44, pitched 20 years for the Braves, winning the NL Cy Young Award in 1996. He won 213 games in his career.

Copyright © 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

After Cuban-Americans in Miami expressed their displeasure with Guillen’s comments, Guillen flew back to Miami to express his side of the story in a press conference on Tuesday. A Cuban-American advocacy group in Miami wants Guillen fired.

Guillen apologized to the city and community.

“I feel like I betrayed my Latin community,” Guillen said. “I am here to say I am sorry with my heart in my hands and I want to say I’m sorry to all those people who are hurt indirectly or directly.

“I hope that when I get out of here, they will understand who Ozzie Guillen is. How I feel for them. And how I feel about the Fidel Castro dictatorship.”

Guillen said on Tuesday that he does not admire Castro, and that his comments came out wrong.

“The interpretation didn’t come out as I wanted,” Guillen said. “I was thinking in Spanish and I said the wrong thing in English.”

Guillen has always said what’s on his mind, and has gotten into hot water with his comments in the past.

Darvish wins debut: Yu Darvish didn’t have the best start to his major league career on Monday night, but when the star pitcher from the Japanese professional league settled down, he got the win for the Texas Rangers.

Darvish allowed four runs in a 42-pitch first inning and gave up another run in the second of the Rangers 11-5 win over the visiting Seattle Mariners. Later, he retired 10 straight batters.

“Mentally, I was very calm, but my body felt like it wanted to go and go and go,” Darvish said through a translator. “It was pretty much a battle all night. Just knowing my offense, if I could string those zeroes together, they would answer for me.”

And his teammates did. Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer to tie the game 5-5 in the third. Mitch Moreland, Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler also hit home runs.

Darvish, who has a guaranteed $56 million, six-year contract, pitched into the sixth and finished with eight hits allowed, four walks and five strikeouts.

StatsWatch: Who had the most popular jersey in baseball last season? Here’s a list of the biggest sellers last year, according to Major League Baseball:

1. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees
2. Cliff Lee, LHP, Phillies
3. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
4. Josh Hamilton, CF, Rangers
5. Roy Halladay, RHP, Phillies

Diamond Notes: Atlanta Braves 3B Chipper Jones had his team-record streak of 16 consecutive Opening Day starts end this season. Jones, 40, is on the disabled list, recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery…Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey says he’ll return before the end of the season. Bailey had surgery last week for a torn ligament in his right thumb. The injury occurred in sprint training…White Sox DH Adam Dunn hit his eighth Opening Day home run, tying Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr….Toronto and Cleveland worked overtime in the first two games of the season. The Blue Jays won in 16 innings on Opening Day, and again in 12 innings in the second game of the series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time since 1969 that any team had played at least 12 innings in the first two games of the season…Tigers 1B Prince Fielder got his 1,000th hit in Sunday’s game against Boston.

Copyright 2012 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media

There were enough twists and turns to fill a novel.

And after the Cardinals won that thriller, it just seemed inevitable that they would win Game 7, which they did, for their 11th World Series championship.

Of course, David Freese won last Thursday’s Game 6 on a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, but what happened before that climatic hit was also incredible.

With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning, the pre-Halloween craziness started as Cardinals left-fielder Matt Holliday failed to call for a ball on a pop fly hit by Nelson Cruz, and then dropped it. Cruz came around to score on a single by Mike Napoli.

Holliday’s miscue may have rubbed off on Rangers first baseman Michael Young, whose error allowed Lance Berkman to reach base in the bottom half of the inning. Berkman scored on a ground ball to third by Yadier Molina, tying it 3-3.

In the fifth, Freese became the goat for the moment by dropping a popup at third base, allowing Josh Hamilton to reach. Young doubled in Hamilton to retake the lead.

“I’m just glad I had a chance after I looked like an idiot on that popup,” Freese said later.

St. Louis had two runners on base following another error by Young in the sixth. Alexi Ogando walked Molina, sending Berkman in with the tying run. A key play in the game followed when Napoli picked off Holliday at third. Adrian Beltre blocked the bag with his foot against a sliding Holliday, who bruised his right pinkie finger and would have to leave the game.

The World Series appeared to be the Rangers’ to take after Beltre and Cruz homered in the seventh. And with another score before the inning was over, Texas held a 7-4 lead.

Holliday’s replacement, Allen Craig, hit a home run in the eighth to cut the Cardinals deficit to 7-5, but when St. Louis left the bases loaded, the game and the Series seemed to be going to the Rangers.

Even the Rangers clubhouse was getting readied for a celebration with protective plastic over the lockers and champagne on ice.

In the ninth, the Rangers called on closer Neftali Feliz to finish off the first championship for the franchise that started in 1961 in Washington.

Feliz got the first batter. But Albert Pujols, who had been quiet at the plate in the Series since hitting three home runs in Game 3, doubled to left-center.

Freese came to the plate with two outs, Pujols on second and Berkman on first with a walk. He drove the ball to deep right, a triple that scored two runs and tied the game again at 7-7.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? My first AB off Feliz in this situation ever,’” Freese said. “I just beared down, got a pitch to hit.”

Most of the 47,325 fans at Busch Stadium went wild.

Hamilton gave Texas the lead with a two-run shot in the 10th inning, quieting the crowd. In the bottom half of the frame, and again down to their final out, the Cardinals tied it at 9-9 when Berkman singled to center off Scott Feldman, scoring Jon Jay.

“I understand it’s not over till you get that last out,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “I was just sitting there praying we got that last out. We didn’t get it.”

In the 11th, Freese topped off the night with a historic, 428-foot homer to center, setting off a frenzy in the stands and on the field.

Teammates mobbed Freese and tore his jersey off.

“Just an incredible feeling, seeing all my teammates at the dish waiting for me,” Freese said.

It was the fifth walk-off home run in a Game 6 or 7 in World Series history. The Cardinals celebration looked like they had already won the title.

As if Freese hadn’t done enough already, the player who grew up in the St. Louis area doubled in two runs to tie Game 7 at 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning on Friday night.

The Cardinals went on to win 6-2, and Freese was named the Series MVP.

“The whole ride, this team deserves this,” Freese said.

It certainly was quite a ride for the Cardinals.

Copyright © 2011 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

On August 24, after getting swept in three straight games by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cardinals had lost five of six games, and seven of their last nine. They were 67-63, 10 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central and 10 1/2 games out in the NL wild-card race, trailing Atlanta.

The came the surge.

St. Louis went 23-9 in its last 32 games, winning nine of 10 series, including sweeps over the Brewers and Braves; two of three in another series against Milwaukee, and three of four over Philadelphia.

“For two weeks in August, we started mugging games left and right and we had to say, hey, look, unless we go about this better, we’re going to ruin everything we accomplished as far as respect,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “And we started winning a little bit. An literally played every game like it was the last game of our life.”

After that sweep by the Dodgers, the writing was pretty much on the wall for St. Louis. But La Russa wanted his club to play hard the rest of the season, if nothing more than to finish with a little dignity.

And then came the series with Atlanta. St. Louis swept the three games at Busch Stadium to climb back into the wild-card race, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves.

Of course, if it wasn’t for Atlanta’s epic collapse, the Cardinals wouldn’t have reached the postseason.

“We had nothing to lose. We were already out of it,” Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter said. “People were telling us we were done. We decided to go out and play and not embarrass ourselves an do what we can. We played ourselves back into it.”

St. Louis made deals at the trade deadline in July, sending center fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto for pitchers Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, and acquiring shortstop Rafael Furcal from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The moves didn’t have immediate impact, but proved to be key down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Of course, veterans Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday contributed to the Cardinals drive to the postseason. And Carpenter threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout over Houston on the last day of the regular season as the Braves lost to the Phillies.

That clinched the wild-card for St. Louis, and the best was yet to come.

Truly a Cinderella story, the Cardinals then upset the pitching-rich Phillies in five games in the NLDS, with Carpenter outpitching Roy Halladay in a series-clinching 1-0 win in Game 5 at Philadelphia.

Then they upended the Brewers in the NLCS, outscoring them 43-26 in the six-game series, 19-7 in the last two games. Third baseman David Freese, the NLCS MVP, hit .545 with three homers and nine RBIs in the series.

“It’s kind of surreal that we’re here,” Freese said. “But this team deserves what we’ve been rewarded. We believe. I think that’s what you’ve got to do in this game. We got a group of guys with some talent, desire, and just a ton of heart.”

The bullpen was also a key for St. Louis. La Russa called on his relievers 28 times in the NLCS, and the Cardinals became the first team to win a postseason series without a starter reaching the sixth inning.

Behind Fernando Salas, Rzepczynski, Dotel, Lance Lynn and Jason Motte, they went 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 28 2/3 innings pitched.

“It’s crazy to be where we are right now,” Dotel said. “I don’t know how to explain it. The only thing I know is we’re here and we’re looking forward to keep winning games.”

Copyright © 2011 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

New York has to face the possibility of CC Sabathia opting out of his contract. Philadelphia might lose star shortstop Jimmy Rollins to free agency.

“The one need we are going to have to address again is our rotation,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “There is no doubt about it. We have two guys (Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon) who are free agents. We have another guy who can opt out. It is similar to what we had to do for this year. It all starts with CC and then you go from there.”

The Yankees, who topped the AL this season with 97 wins, were stunned in a five-game, ALDS defeat to the Detroit Tigers.

“It’s devastating,” said third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who hit just .118 in the series. “This is going to hurt for a long time. I’ve got a lot of work for me to do, personally. I’ve got to get my health back in order and I know exactly what I have to do to get back to help this team get back to the top.”

New York has gone two years without a World Series championship, and is 1-2 in the Fall Classic since 2001.

“The Yankees are so good that I would be lying if I said it didn’t give me a little extra satisfaction to be able to do it here (at Yankee Stadium) in the fifth game,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “This will be a game I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Philadelphia led the majors this year with 102 wins, and seemed to have what it took to win its second World Series since 2008. But the Phillies were ousted by St. Louis in five games in the NLDS.

Chris Carpenter outdueled Roy Halladay in the Cardinals 1-0 win last Friday night in Game 5.

“We had a great team this year,” Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence said. “We had a great opportunity. When you have a team like this, it’s definitely disappointing to not come through.”

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. spoke about the team’s lineup in a press conference.

“Abilitywise, there is no question in my mind this is a championship caliber lineup,” Amaro said. “We have to go about it in a different way. We don’t have nearly as much power, have to be better with two strikes, better situational at-bats. Those are frankly things we have to change.”

The Phillies have won five straight NL East Division titles.

Ventura named new White Sox manager: Robin Ventura was introduced on Tuesday as the new Chicago White Sox manager. Ventura, 44, played 10 of his 16 seasons in the major leagues with the White Sox.

“It’s great, it’s exciting… being able to do this for a franchise that I love,” Ventura said. “I’m confident about being able to do this.”

When hired last week, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams was criticized for selecting Ventura, who has no coaching or managerial experience in the big leagues, and is considered a low-key, nice guy.

But Sox captain Paul Konerko approves.

“I think most people cross over with him being a great guy, a nice guy, that he’s not tough,” Konerko said. “But in actuality, more of the stories I’ve heard about Robin over the years are the times he stood up to people and got into physical fights in clubhouses and dugouts.

“A lot of people think nice and great equals easy-going and pushover. That’s what people will probably learn is not the case.”

Ventura rushed the mound in a 1993 game at Texas after getting hit by a pitch from Nolan Ryan, inciting a brawl.

A two-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Ventura also played for the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit a career .267 with 294 home runs, 1,812 RBIs and had 18 grand slams.

Copyright © 2011 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.

Tampa Bay’s Kelly Shopach hit two home runs and knocked in five runs in the Rays 9-0 win in the series opener against Texas. Robinson Cano belted a grand slam and had six RBIs in New York’s 9-3 win over Detroit on Saturday.

Homers were on display again in Philadelphia’s Game 1, 11-6 victory over St. Louis on Saturday. Ryan Howard crushed a three-run shot for the Phillies while teammate Raul Ibanez added a two-run homer.

Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead on Arizona in the NLDS thanks to a little power. Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer in the Brewers 4-1 victory on Saturday, while Ryan Braun hit a two-run shot in a 9-4 win on Sunday.

Mike Napoli helped lead the Rangers to a 2-1 series lead with two-run single in Game 2, won by Texas 8-6, and a two-run homer in Game 3 in a 4-3 victory. Adrian Beltre outdid Napoli with a three-homer performance in Game 4.

The long ball gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in their series against the Yankees as Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs with a home run in a 5-3 win in Game 2, while Delmon Young hit the tiebreaking homer in Monday’s 5-4, Game 3 win.

Pitching, too: Here were some of the notable pitching performances early in the Divisional Series:

— Matt Moore, Rays, 22-year-old rookie shut out Texas in Game 1, allowing two hits in seven innings.

— Ivan Nova won his 13th straight decision, giving up four hits in 6 1/3 innings in the Yankees Game 1 win over Detroit.

— Yovani Gallardo struck out nine with four hits and a walk in eight innings for Milwaukee in Game 1 against Arizona.

— Roy Halladay retired 21 straight from innings 2-8 in the Phillies Game 1 victory over St. Louis.

— Max Scherzer didn’t allow a hit through five innings in the Tigers Game 2 win over New York.

— Colby Lewis gave up just one hit in six innings of the Rangers win in Game 3 over Tampa Bay.

Ryes bunts way to batting title: Jose Reyes appeared to take the easy way to the National League batting title in the New York Mets’ season finale last week.

The shortstop bunted in the first inning against Cincinnati for a single. With that, Reyes forced Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun to go 3-for-4 to overtake him for the batting title.

Reyes told manager Terry Collins that he wanted to be taken out of the game if he got a hit in his first at-bat. Collins obliged.

“It was kind of tough,” Reyes said. “I want to stay in the game. They have to understand, too, what’s going on. They have to feel happy about it if I win the batting title.”

That’s just what Reyes did. He finished with a .337 average to take the NL crown. Braun went 0-for-4 to finish at .332. Reyes was the Mets first batting champion.

Braun took the high road.

“I respect whatever decision he decided to make and ultimately, he left the door open for me,” Braun said.

The fans at Citi Field in New York booed when Reyes was lifted for a pinch-runner. It might have been the last time they saw Reyes play in a Mets uniform. He’ll become a free agent after the World Series.

“I’m humbled and honored,” Reyes said in a statement about his achievement. “It means so much to my family and my country, the Dominican Republic. I have been through a lot over the past few years, so this really means a lot to me. It’s also very special to be the first Mets player to win a batting title. There have been so many great players throughout our history.”

• StatsWatch: Here are the final regular-season leaders —
• Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, .344 average.
• Jose Bautista, Blue Jays, 43 home runs.
• Matt Kemp, Dodgers, 126 RBIs.
• Justin Verlander, Tigers, 24 wins.
• Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, 2.28 ERA.
• Jose Valverde, Tigers, 49 saves.

Diamond Notes: Monday’s ALDS game at Tampa Bay was the Rays’ first sellout at Tropicana Field since Opening Day…Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was fined an undisclosed amount after he criticized home plate umpire Jerry Meals in Sunday night’s game at Philadelphia. La Russa told TBS in an interview during the game that Meals had “two different strike zones.”…Tampa Bay’s streak of 31 straight wins when scoring five or more runs this season ended in Saturday’s Game 2, 8-6 loss to Texas. The Rangers win was their first in a Division Series at home after starting 0-7…Philadelphia has sold out 219 consecutive games, including playoffs…Because of the rain-shortened start of Game 1 in the ALDS, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander were the first pitchers to start Games 1 and 3 of a postseason series since Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s in the earthquake-interrupted 1989 World Series against San Francisco.

Copyright © 2011 Bob Hurst. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Hurst Sports Media.