Holland pitches shutout, 4-0 as Texas even series at two

Derek Holland, boosted by a pregame pep talk from his manager, Ron Washington, shut down the St. Louis Cardinals on two hits into the 9th inning as the Texas Rangers won 4-0 to even the World Series at two.

Holland struck out seven and came within two outs of pitching the first complete-game shutout in the World Series since Josh Beckett’s gem for Florida to clinch the 2003 title at Yankee Stadium.

Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the 1st inning, then Mike Napoli broke it open with a three-run homerun in the 6th inning.

The Rangers also completed a Sunday sweep in the matchup of teams from St. Louis and the Dallas area. Earlier in the afternoon, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys beat the St. Louis Rams, 34-7 right across the parking lots.

Game 5 will be this Monday night at Rangers Ballpark, featuring a rematch of Game 1, when Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter takes on Rangers starter C.J. Wilson. After that, it’s back to Busch Stadium in St. Louis to possibly crown a champion in Game 6 this Wednesday.