The Rangers and Cardinals will conclude their epic back-and-forth in World Series Game 7 Friday night, but only one of the two teams will have near its full complement of players for the deciding game. Texas will have Josh Hamilton in its starting lineup, while St. Louis will have to follow up its stirring Game 6 comeback without Matt Holliday, who will be replaced by Allen Craig.
That shift means that the Cardinals' lineup will be substantially different from its Game 6 version. Ryan Theriot leads off, moving Rafael Furcal out of the leadoff spot for the first time in the 2011 MLB postseason; Craig follows him, hitting second; and Game 6 hero David Freese moves up from sixth to fifth in the batting order, protecting Lance Berkman. Texas' lone shift from Thursday night is the insertion of David Murphy for Craig Gentry in left field, which moves Hamilton over to center to begin the game.
Here are the full World Series Game 7 lineups, via CBS Sports' Danny Knobler:
Texas Rangers
- Ian Kinsler, 2B
- Elvis Andrus, SS
- Josh Hamilton, CF
- Michael Young, 1B
- Adrian Beltre, 3B
- Nelson Cruz, RF
- Mike Napoli, C
- Daniel Murphy LF
- Matt Harrison, P
St. Louis Cardinals
- Ryan Theriot, 2B
- Allen Craig, LF
- Albert Pujols, 1B
- Lance Berkman, RF
- David Freese, 3B
- Yadier Molina, C
- Rafael Furcal, SS
- Skip Schumaker, CF
- Chris Carpenter, P
For more on the Rangers, visit Lone Star Ball; for more on the World Series, head to Baseball Nation.