How many walk-off hits do the St. Louis Cardinals have in their playoff history?

David Freese 2011 World Series Game 6

The greatest game in Cardinals history? What about in baseball history? If not the best it is definitely up there as one of the best, this game was special in so many ways, and one we will never forget.

After splitting the first 2 games in St. Louis, the Cards lost 2 of the 3 games in Arlington which meant they would have to win 2 straight games at home to win the World Series. This game got off to an inauspicious start as starter Jaime Garcia gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run before getting an out in the first, but a 2 run homer by Lance Berkman in the bottom half gave the Cardinals an early lead.

There were several moments in this game where the Cardinals made some unforgivable mistakes. In the top of the 5th with the game tied at 3, David Freese dropped an easy pop-up to lead off the inning and that error came around to score 2 pitches later. Right after Yadier Molina tied the game in the bottom of the 6th on a bases-loaded walk, Matt Holliday was picked off at 3rd base by catcher Mike Napoli, which on top of making an out at 3rd base, also caused an injury to Holliday that left him unable to play for the rest of the series. The Cardinals left the bases loaded in that inning.

Right after that inning, Lance Lynn allowed back-to-back home runs to Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz leading off the inning to give Texas the lead, they would add one more to make it 7-4 in the 7th. Allen Craig (Matt Holliday's defensive replacement) would homer in his first AB which cut the deficit to 2 going to the bottom of the 9th. David Freese was able to redeem himself and then some with the Cards down to their final strike, he hit a fly ball to right just out of the reach of Nelson Cruz to bring home Pujols and Berkman and tie the game at 7. Freese was stranded at 3rd so the game went to extra innings.

Josh Hamilton hit a 2-run homer in the 10th off Jason Motte to give Texas another lead, but yet again the Cards down to their last strike came through again. This time, it was Lance Berkman singling bringing in Jon Jay to make it 9-9. Again however they could only tie the game, they couldn't win it, but after the Cards finally got a scoreless inning in the 11th, Freese came up to lead off the bottom of the 11th. On a full-count pitch from Mark Lowe, Freese hit a home run to dead center field to stave off elimination.

This home run again gave us another great call, this one by Jack Buck's son, Joe, who echoed his father with the call "We will see you, tomorrow night." The call his dad made back in 1991 when Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett hit a walk-off home run also in Game 6 of the World Series to force a Game 7. The perfect ending to one of the most intense and dramatic baseball games ever played.