By STEPHEN HAWKINS
updated 5:30 a.m. ET Oct. 24, 2011
Edwin Jackson has always had a bit of a wild streak. His latest one wound up costing him and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jackson walked seven ? the most in a World Series game in 14 years ? in only 5 1-3 innings Sunday as the Texas Rangers beat St. Louis 4-0, evening the matchup at 2-all.
"It's just a matter of time before they catch up with you," Jackson said.
Jackson was pulled in the sixth after a pair of free passes. Texas led 1-0 at the time, but Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer on the first pitch from reliever Mitchell Boggs.
Jackson walked eight in his third major league start, at San Francisco in 2003. He matched that on June 25 last year, when he finished one shy of the record for walks in a no-hitter as he pitched Arizona over Tampa Bay 1-0.
The seven walks were three shy of the Series record, set by the New York Yankees' Bill Bevens in Game 4 in 1947 against the Brooklyn Dodgers. No one had walked seven in the Series since Florida's Livan Hernandez had eight in Game 5 in 1997 against Cleveland.
"I thought he pitched really well," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He missed a few times, walked a couple guys, but he kept making pitches. Overall I give him a huge plus for keeping us in the game."
Jackson acknowledged it could be his last game for St. Louis.
"It's a possibility. You never know what's going to happen," he said. "There could be a time in Game 7 where I might have to come out."
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HAMILTON DELIVERS: Josh Hamilton is still hurting ? and still contributing for the Texas Rangers.
Hamilton, who has acknowledged that he might be playing with a sports hernia, put Texas ahead to stay in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night when he lined an RBI double into the right-field corner that sent Elvis Andrus home in the first inning.
"It was great to see that," teammate David Murphy said. "For what he's dealing with right now, he's playing through some pain, he's doing a great job. He's obviously a big-time presence in the middle of our lineup. He had a huge hit in the first inning. You take Josh Hamilton at 75 percent over most guys at 100 percent and he's showing why."
Rangers manager Ron Washington has steadfastly kept Hamilton in the lineup throughout the postseason. Hamilton remains third in the batting order, primarily playing center field, despite the grimaces and sometimes awkward swings for the slugger. Hamilton said he won't even get an MRI exam or any tests to confirm his injury until after the season.
Even though Hamilton hasn't homered in 57 postseason at-bats, his double Sunday night helped the Rangers win 4-0 to even the Series at two games each.
When Hamilton struck out swinging at an off-speed pitch in the fifth, he hopped around on one leg while going across the plate into the other batter's box. Two innings later, he had a hard liner to center for an out.
"Josh is making good contact," Rangers DH Michael Young said. "We're not worried about Josh. He's going to be fine."
Hamilton tied Game 2 with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning before Young followed with one of his own as the Rangers pulled out a 2-1 victory in St. Louis.
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LAST ACT?: When C.J. Wilson starts Game 5 of the World Series, it could be his last outing for the Texas Rangers. The left-hander can become a free agent next month.
Wilson insists that he hasn't even "really thought" about what might happen after Monday night.
"I'm just thinking about the team and where we're at and being in the World Series obviously, like there's no extra series after this," Wilson said Sunday before Game 4. "There's no galaxy series or universe series or whatever. Just trying to win (Sunday) and win (Monday) and see what we can do back in St. Louis."
After going 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA during the regular season, Wilson is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in four postseason starts. He gave up three runs and walked six over 5 2-3 innings in losing Game 1 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
So, just how does Wilson block out questions about free agency?
"As soon as the question gets up, I start thinking about something else. I don't even pay attention to it," Wilson said. "I just picture myself like surfing or whatever, somewhere else. So as soon as you start talking and I hear the word free agency, I just go (hums), and I don't let it register. You've got to think about it this way, right: There's nothing I can do to control, like, what happens, what any team offers me or what any team wants from me or whatever.
"I'm obviously not going to be a second baseman or a closer or a right fielder. That's the only thing I'm certain about, is that I'm going to be a left-handed pitcher next year," he said. "Who it's for, I don't know yet."
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JUST A BIT OUTSIDE: When former President George W. Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4, he was a bit wide of home plate.
The ball ticked off the catcher's mitt and hit a photographer who was behind the plate.
The catcher was Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Famer and Rangers president who is more accustomed to throwing pitches than catching them. Texas manager Ron Washington and slugger Josh Hamilton were among those in the dugout who erupted in laughter when Ryan misplayed the ball.
"I should've gone with the regular glove," Ryan said with a chuckle.
While the photographer was OK and able to laugh it off, he's probably thankful that it was Bush and not Ryan who made the errant throw.
Ryan and Bush both had smiles on their faces when they posed for a picture.
Bush, the former managing partner of the Rangers, has been a regular visitor to games with Ryan in first-row seats near the Texas dugout.
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ST. LOUIS SOUTH: Before the Cardinals lost Game 4 of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark on Sunday night, their NFL counterparts played across the street ? the St. Louis Rams lost 34-7 to the Dallas Cowboys.
Outfielders Josh Hamilton of the Rangers and Lance Berkman of the Cardinals came dressed in their uniforms and served as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss.
It was the second time in three years that a World Series game followed an NFL game in the same city on a day when both home teams were playing opposing teams from the same city, according to STATS LLC.
The last time was 2009, when the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles won at home against the New York Giants before the New Yankees defeated the Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series later that night.
There has been only one other similar World Series-NFL matchup. That was on the West Coast in 1988 when there was still NFL football in Los Angeles.
On the same day that the Los Angeles Dodgers won at home over Oakland in Game 2, the San Francisco 49ers won on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
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GRIFFEY HONORED: Ken Griffey Jr. was presented Sunday with the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award.
Griffey was a 13-time All-Star in his 22 major league seasons for the Mariners (1989-99, 2009-10), Reds (2000-08) and White Sox (2008). He hit 630 career home runs, won 10 Gold Gloves and was the 1997 AL MVP.
It was also Griffey who initially had the idea to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.
"He asked my permission to do that, and I of course granted it. It told me a lot, however, about Ken, about how much he understood the history, how much he understood the impact of Jackie Robinson," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "I've often gotten credit for something, but really he made a phone call to me on a Sunday night at home that I'll never forget. So with Ken leading the way, it began to catch on with other players."
Now all on-field personnel in baseball wear No. 42 once a season, a tradition Selig said will continue "at least as long as I'm around."
The Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award was last given in 2007, when Rachel Robinson was honored for her work to preserve the legacy of her late husband, Jackie.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsGetty ImagesSeries shifts once again
DeMarco: Never did the Rangers' title hopes seem more in jeopardy than after a 16-7 beat-down by the bats of the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3. But 24 hours later, the Rangers' adjustment for Game 4 simply was to send Derek Holland to the mound.
Rangers top Cards in Game 4, tie series
Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer on reliever Mitchell Boggs' first pitch in the sixth inning, Derek Holland was dominant on the mound and the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45009524/ns/sports-baseball/
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