Cardinals have been far from their best in Series

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa grimaced, then pulled the bill of his cap down low.

Pitcher Jeff Suppan somehow got hung up between third base and home, turning an easy run into an excruciating double play in the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night.

The team with the best record in baseball ran itself out of an early chance to get at Pedro Martinez and climb back into the series -- and their manager was embarrassed. Now, the Cardinals are about to get run out of the postseason.

After piling up 105 victories and beating Los Angeles and Houston in the playoffs to reach the World Series for the first time in 17 years, the Cardinals are a team on the brink -- one loss away from being swept by the Red Sox. They've looked lost and confused, even bumbling at times. They even heard some rare boos from the red-clad faithful.

The Cardinals are in exactly the same spot the Red Sox were a little more than a week ago, down 3-0 and looking hopeless. Boston somehow rallied against the New York Yankees, but no team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series.

St. Louis is in a tight spot mostly due to a combination of lousy starting pitching and poor clutch hitting.

The Cardinals are the first team since the 1989 San Francisco Giants to go the first three games without a starter lasting long enough to qualify for a victory -- five innings.

Suppan had been holding hitters to a .154 average in the playoffs before getting knocked out in the fifth Tuesday night, following the shaky leads of Woody Williams and Matt Morris in the first two games. The three combined to go 42-27 in the regular season, but together have lasted 11 2/3 innings and given up 15 runs.

St. Louis' most dominant pitcher, Chris Carpenter, isn't on the roster after sustaining nerve damage to his right biceps Sept. 18. That could've changed the complexion of the series.

Instead, the Cardinals have always been playing catchup from the first inning of each game. The Red Sox scored four in the first inning off Williams in Game 1, two off Morris in Game 2 and got a home run from Manny Ramirez in Game 3 off Suppan.

St. Louis' trio of MVP candidates -- Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds -- has been quiet in the World Series, going a combined 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Suppan's baserunning blunder, which occurred when the Red Sox were conceding a run, wasn't the first on the basepaths for the Cardinals. In Game 2, Reggie Sanders missed second base to help kill a potentially productive second inning.