Deviating from the trend of nail-biting NLCS battles, the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-0, in Friday night’s Game 6 to clinch the 2013 National League pennant.

Closer Trevor Rosenthal brought the series to an end with this strikeout of A.J. Ellis: 

Pandemonium followed.

The sell-out crowd of 46,899 who made it to Busch Stadium certainly enjoyed the moment. They stayed around for a while to see manager Mike Matheny hoisting the NL champions trophy, and Michael Wacha accepting the NLCS MVP award:

The rookie right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings to out-duel Clayton Kershaw for the second time in the series.

The action moved to the home clubhouse, where the players soaked their grass stains and sweat with some ice-cold refreshments:

Even some Bleacher Report MLB writers who weren’t on the Cardinals bandwagon couldn’t resist acknowledging their accomplishment:

ESPN Stats & Info reminds us that a World Series berth is nothing new for this proud franchise:

St. Louis has been especially successfully over the past decade:

The Red Birds won their most recent championship in 2011, overcoming the Texas Rangers in a seven-game epic. We can only hope that the Boston Red Sox or Detroit Tigers—whomever emerges from the American League—provide us with an equally dramatic matchup.

The 2013 World Series begins next Wednesday night at the home of the AL pennant winner.

 

Ely is a national MLB Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a sportscaster for 90.5 WVUM in Miami. He’s hoping to deepen relationships with his fantastic online audience (that means you) via Twitter.

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