After taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series, the St. Louis Cardinals fell apart, losing three straight. The suddenly upstart San Francisco Giants advanced to the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.

The Cards and Giants split the first two games in San Francisco, leading to three straight in St. Louis. The Cardinals won the first two, leaving them with three chances to win a game and advance to the World Series; however, a trip to the Fall Classic was not in the cards. St. Louis fell apart in every aspect of the game over the last three games, getting outscored 20-1, committing four errors, and having their starters never complete the fifth inning. They were dominated by mediocre Giants pitchers and seemed to give up all hope once the series returned to San Francisco for Games 6 & 7.

By the end of the second inning in Game 6, and the third inning in Game 7, the Cardinals were already trailing 5-0 and 7-0, respectively. Their veteran leadership evaporated and the team crawled to the finish, getting blown out a combined 17-1 over the final two games.

It seemed that by even early in Game 6, the Cardinals had accepted defeat; the hostile, unforgiving atmosphere in AT&T Park was palpable through the television. Defeat was evident on the faces of much of the team, and so any hope of a comeback was extinguished.

St. Louis will largely field the same team next year; consequently, the Cardinals will have a long winter to contemplate their collapse and to watch the Giants face off against the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.