ST. LOUIS — Carlos Beltran is finally done wondering if he ever will get to play in the World Series.
By the time the fifth inning concluded Friday night at Busch Stadium, it was abundantly clear the Cardinals would be National League champions and Beltran, among the best active players to have never played in a World Series, would get his shot.
Michael Wacha manhandled the Dodgers, firing seven shutout innings, and Beltran did his part with a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance leading the Cardinals to their 19th pennant and second in three years with a 9-0 victory in Game 6 of the NLCS.
“Today when I woke up, I woke up with a feeling we were going to do it,” Beltran said. “I just felt we were playing good at home and our crowd is unbelievable. We’re happy to get it done, and it’s a great feeling.”
In recent weeks the Cardinals had used the fact Beltran hadn’t been to the World Series in a career that began in 1998 as a motivational tool.
As Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak accepted the NL championship trophy in the rain, he saluted Beltran.
“I think about this roster and my very first thought is Carlos Beltran,” Mozeliak said.
The Cardinals will face the Red Sox or Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday in the American League city. It’s wait until next year for the Dodgers, who haven’t been to the World Series since 1988.
Then there’s Don Mattingly, who made it 24 years and counting as a player, coach and manager without reaching the World Series.
“Going through spring, the long season, and then it comes to a crash,” Mattingly said. “It’s disappointing for all of us.”
The Cardinals earned this victory, hammering likely NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, chasing him from the game without recording an out in the fifth. The lefty allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and one walk over that stretch for his second loss of the series.
Wacha, the rookie fireballer, made it a third straight electric start in this postseason by allowing just two hits over seven innings. Over those three starts he surrendered one run — on a Pedro Alvarez homer to break up his no-hit bid in the eighth inning in Game 4 of the NLDS.
Beltran had three previous close calls reaching the World Series, losing in Game 7 of the NLCS each time. Most notably, with the Mets, he took a called strike three from Adam Wainwright — now his teammate — to end the 2006 NLCS against the Cardinals.
“This is what it’s all about,” Beltran said. “As a player this is what you dream of and I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity and I want to enjoy it.”
It was Beltran’s RBI single in the fifth on Friday that placed the cherry atop a five-run inning that gave the Cardinals a 9-0 lead. Beltran also delivered an RBI single in the third inning and doubled in the first.
In the fifth inning, he made a diving catch in right field to rob Juan Uribe of a hit. Beltran helped the Cardinals win Game 1 of this series with an RBI single off Kenley Jansen in the 13th inning after throwing out Mark Ellis at the plate in the 10th as he attempted to score the go-ahead run.
“Carlos, he’s a heck of a player,” Wacha said. “He’s out there running balls down, diving, knocks guys in, RBIs, hits, everything. It’s fun to have him on our team.”
Last year, the Cardinals raced to a 3-1 lead in the NLCS against the Giants before losing the next three games. A year earlier, the Cardinals beat the Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series. The Cardinals will be attempting to win a third world championship in eight years and 12th overall.
“We take a lot of pride in trying to carry ourselves like a championship club,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But there’s a whole lot that’s been in our way. There’s been a lot of good teams.”