The atmosphere was surreal on this sunny November afternoon. It felt more like a Terminator movie than a baseball stadium. Busch Stadium joins The Arena, Kiel Auditorium, and Sportsman’s Park among the demolished St. Louis historical sports landmarks.

This final game at Busch Stadium game wouldn’t have been possible without a 9th inning 3-run homer by Albert Pujols in game 5 at Houston. The crowd came out rocking and the atmosphere was electric early on, but as Oswalt quieted the Cardinals’ bats and the Astros built a lead the finality of the circumstances set it. Everyone stood in the 9th, desperately rooting for another miracle comeback that never came.

It seems like ancient history now, but Cardinals dominated game 1 of this series. Reggie Sanders hit a 2-run bomb off Pettitte in the first, and Carpenter drove in Eckstein on a suicide squeeze in the 2nd. Carpenter was sharp on the mound allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits in 8 innings. Game 2 was a different story with Oswalt owning the Cardinals save for a Pujols solo in the 6th.

Reggie Sanders led the way with 6 RBIs in the Cardinals 8-5 win over San Diego in game 1 of their division series. Facing a 3-0 count with the bases loaded in the 5th, Sanders swung away and launched a no-doubter into the left field seats. Carpenter was solid on the mound, while Izzy was his usual seft, making it a little too interesting in the 9th.

Matt Morris’ last start at Busch is one he’d like to forget as he allowed 5 runs in 3 innings, but the bullpen came to the rescue and pitched 6 shut-out innings. After the bottom of the order got the Cards back into the game, Reggie Sanders and Chris Duncan each hit solo shots in the 5th to put the Cards up for good. Isringhausen made it interesting in the 9th, but the Cards held on and earned their 100th win in the final game of the regular season.