Gritty little Eckstein comes up big for Cards

He hit the ball farther than Granderson expected during the Detroit center fielder's fateful fall in the seventh that landed Eckstein on second.

And in the eighth with the game tied 4-4, Monroe was playing more shallow than usual in left field because of the combination of Eckstein at the plate and Aaron Miles on second base.

"You want to give yourself a chance on a base hit," Monroe said, referring to a potential play at the plate on Miles. "And you're not expecting him to hit a home run ball. I think he had one home run all year."

Two, actually -- in 500 at-bats.

But he batted .292, he reached base in 35 percent of his plate appearances and he's one of the best suicide squeeze artists that La Russa has ever had.

Even given that, and given the one World Series ring he already owns, well, even Eckstein hasn't had such dramatic back-to-back at-bats as those in the seventh and eighth innings before.

"Not really," said Eckstein, 31. "This is probably the biggest stage that you can be on, and having the opportunity to be in that situation, I was just hoping that I would find a way to put a good at-bat, put the barrel of the bat on the ball.

"And fortunately I was able to do it, and it felt good."

Granderson was playing shallow simply because Eckstein isn't known for his muscle. He was happy with his break on the ball -- then he fell.

As for the ball that ticked off of a diving Monroe's glove in the eighth ...

"I was hoping it was going to find a little bit of dirt or grass out there," Eckstein said. "But the ball was kind of straightening out and it kept going and it just reminded me -- I played with a guy named Darin Erstad that made a catch like that at Yankee Stadium. It just barely got out of the reach of (Monroe's) glove, hit off the tip.

"But the key to that, I think, was Aaron Miles, who beat out the double-play ball. And that's one of the things that kept the inning going."

That's a part of the game Eckstein surely can recognize, because he's so good at keeping things going himself.

"He's a guy who grinds out every at-bat," Monroe said. "You have to give the guy credit. He ain't the biggest guy, or the strongest, but he makes things happen at the top of their lineup."

And the Cardinals appreciate every bit of it.

"He fights you tooth and nail," outfielder Preston Wilson said. "People talk about him not having enough arm, but there are very few plays he doesn't make. People talk about him not having enough range, but he positions himself so well. And people talk about him not having enough size, and he constantly gives you 10-, 11-, 12-pitch at-bats.

"He does anything he can to win a game. That's what's most impressive."