ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Bruce Hurst was in his room at the Grand Hyatt in New York when he got the call exactly 25 years ago. Because of a rainout, Boston Red Sox manager John McNamara was switching to him as his starter for Game 7 of the World Series against the New York Mets.
"It's what you prepare for your whole life," Hurst said Wednesday after Game 6 between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers was postponed. "If you can't get ready for that, nothing can get you ready to pitch."
If the Cardinals force a seventh game, now scheduled for Friday, ace Chris Carpenter could find himself in the same situation as Hurst: pitching baseball's biggest game on short rest. Asked about his possible Game 7 starter, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa avoided a direct answer and instead joked about which pitcher he would send to the interview room Thursday before Game 6.
"If Bob Gibson is there, we'll send Bob," La Russa said of the 75-year-old Hall of Famer.
Jokes aside, La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan must decide whether to bring back Carpenter on short rest for only the second time in his big league career. He would be the first pitcher to make three starts in one Series since Arizona's Curt Schilling in 2001.
