St. Louis Cardinals vs. LHP C.J. Wilson
- Rafael Furcal - SS
- Jon Jay - CF
- Albert Pujols - 1B
- Matt Holliday - LF
- Lance Berkman - RF
- David Freese - 3B
- Yadier Molina - C
- Nick Punto - 3B
- Chris Carpenter - P
Though it had previously been announced Skip Schumaker would be available for the World Series, Punto will continue to play second base for the Cardinals. With a move to the National League, Punto had (by far) a career year at the plate, though a long track record as a (very) below-average hitter likely means he is not much a threat at the plate. He does look like a step up from Schumaker in the field, however, even if he is nothing special. He also has more success against the Rangers than any other team in baseball who he has faced at least 16 times, so there is that reason to hate seeing him.
Punto joins Furcal and Berkman as a switch hitter, meaning only Jon Jay will be facing Wilson from the left side. Punto and Berkman both, however, are worse against lefties, while Matt Holliday has shown a reliable reverse split over the course of his career, making the Cardinals less of a platoon disadvantage for Wilson than they look at first glance.