World Series is dominated by pitching

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas

Strolling behind the batting cage, Matt Holliday watched his St. Louis teammates hit away Friday and offered a simple tip.

“Get a good swing!” he hollered.

Great advice for anyone with a Louisville Slugger in hand at this World Series.

Despite the presence of Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, Nelson Cruz and other top boppers, the Cardinals and Texas Rangers have hardly dented the scoreboard while splitting the first two games.

So far, a total of just eight runs. The last time there were fewer through the opening two games at a Series? Try 1950, when Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees combined with Philadelphia for four.

“A lot of people thought this was going to be an offensive World Series,” Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus observed before an off-day workout.

Blame the drought on a few factors: raw weather at Busch Stadium, good pitching and, perhaps most significantly, hitters facing arms they’ve never seen before.

Both teams have flailed away at the plate, chasing sliders and curves that bounced, shattering bats and seeming to guess wrong on what pitches were coming next.

“We need to give good at-bats and get deeper and quit swinging at balls out of the strike zone,” Mike Napoli said.

Napoli has hit the lone home run of the Series. He connected off Chris Carpenter, but maybe he had an edge — Napoli had been 3 for 3 lifetime against the Cardinals ace going into Game 1.

Fresh off their two-run rally in the ninth inning and a 2-1 win in Game 2, the Rangers start Matt Harrison tonight at Rangers Ballpark. Kyle Lohse will pitch for the Cardinals.

“It’s a tough place to pitch, especially when you see those flags blowing in. It usually means that jet stream is going to right-center,” Lohse said. “I think everyone in the league knows that.”

Each team adds a designated hitter, with the AL rule in effect at Texas. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will make Lance Berkman the DH.