Late decision

ST. LOUIS - Josh Hamilton stood in a corner of the Texas Rangers dugout about 90 minutes before game-time, hemmed in by a throng of media three rows deep, and put up a brave front.

His troublesome left groin, injured for nearly two months now, had gotten worse, he conceded. If it was the regular season, he continued, he'd be on the disabled list.

"I just don't have that luxury right now," Hamilton lamented, adding that he would try to contribute any way he could.

The hobbled star did precisely that with runners on the corners in the ninth inning Thursday night, delivering a sacrifice fly deep enough to bring home the tying run and also advance the go-ahead run to third base. Michael Young immediately cashed that run in with another sacrifice fly, securing a crucial 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that knotted the World Series at a game apiece.

The late rally, which started with Ian Kinsler's bloop single to left off closer Jason Motte, gained steam with his gutsy steal of second, and really picked up with Elvis Andrus's subsequent base hit, came with the hosts three outs from taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the 107th Fall Classic to Arlington.

Instead, the Rangers return home with a chance to claim the franchise's first championship at their own ballpark, with manager Ron Washington's faith in Hamilton rewarded, and counterpart Tony La Russa's air of tactical supremacy punctured after being unable to pull the right strings this time.

"I know my player," Washington said of Hamilton. "Things are going around that Hamilton is dealing with some (physical) problems and he is, but the nine guys that I put out there on the field, those are the nine guys that got me here, and we're going to deal with them through good times and bad times.

"If he tells me he can play, I'm putting him in the field. All I can say is I know my players better than you guys."

It was a well-earned I-told-you-so moment for Washington, who was second-guessed relentlessly all day Thursday when he was again forced to defend his decision to pinch-hit with Esteban German instead of Yorvit Torrealba against Marc Rzepczynski in the Series opening 3-2 loss Wednesday.

Amid gushing praise for La Russa's "genius" everywhere, Washington again explained that he felt his team didn't lose Game 1, but instead "got beat."

"They got one swing of the bat when it counted," he added, "and they made it hold up."

As for Hamilton, who didn't look good swinging the bat and chased down balls gingerly in the outfield, Washington said he gave absolutely no thought to dropping his star from the three-hole in the lineup let alone sitting him for a night.

"Even if Hamilton doesn't do anything, he makes a difference just with his presence in our lineup, and I want his presence in it," Washington said. "Don't be surprised if he comes up big, because I certainly won't."

So, genius from La Russa in Game 1, prophecy from Washington in Game 2, and the stage is set for more intrigue and gripping baseball in Game 3 on Saturday, when Matt Harrison takes the mound for the Rangers against Kyle Lohse.

"We needed to get one here," said Washington. "Tonight was one of those great ballgames I think you will continue to see … that's what you're in for, so I've got to say those of you that have bad hearts, watch yourself."

There was drama from start to finish in Game 2 before a Busch Stadium crowd of 47,288, from the gripping pitcher's duel between Colby Lewis and Jamie Garcia, to more heroics from Allen Craig to the late rally and the final three outs by Neftali Feliz, who worked around a leadoff walk to close things out.

And limping his way through it all was Hamilton, who struggled through his first three at-bats before coming through.

Asked afterwards if he needed to take any pain-killers to play, he slyly replied "I plead the fifth," but when questions persisted about how bad his groin is, he lost patience.

"Health-wise, it is what it is, I'm tired of talking about it," he said calmly. "I'm going to hurt until the season is over, so it's non-issue as far as talking about it. So stop asking me, please."

Especially when there is so much else to talk about.

Motte, so dominant these playoffs, allowed Kinsler's bloop single, watched the second baseman slide in ahead of Yadier Molina's throw by a half-step on his steal, and then gave up a solid base hit to Andrus. Kinsler rounded third aggressively and a throw in from the outfield wasn't cut off by Albert Pujols, who was charged with an error for allowing Andrus to take second. It proved costly.

Despite Motte's high-90s gas and Hamilton's gimpy groin, La Russa went to veteran lefty Arthur Rhodes to face Hamilton, deciding to pitch to the slugger he described as "very scary" earlier in the day rather than loading the bases to set up a force all around the diamond.

Hamilton sent Rhodes' first pitch deep to right, with Kinsler scoring and Andrus alertly scooting into third, then Lance Lynn came on try and preserve the tie against Young but couldn't get that done either.

"I figured he'd stay with (Motte) to be honest with you," said Hamilton. "A guy that throws close to 100 rather than bring in Rhodesy who throws 89, but he didn't. I don't get paid to make those decisions and I'm glad he made that one."

La Russa did come up aces with Craig again in the seventh, sending him in to bat for Garcia with runners on the corners and two down - the same situation in which he delivered the winning RBI single in the sixth inning Wednesday.

Craig proceeded to deliver another opposite field hit against reliever Alexi Ogando, but the Cardinals couldn't hold that 1-0 edge as after Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski combined for a clean eighth, things ran away from Motte in the ninth.

To that point the Rangers managed precious little against Garcia, their only chance to score coming in the fourth Young's two-out single moved Kinsler to third base before Adrian Beltre struck out to end the threat.

Lewis matched zeroes with Garcia through six- helped by shortstop Andrus's brilliant play to end the fifth, as he dove to snare Rafael Furcal's grounder up the middle before shovelling the ball with his glove to second base, leading Kinsler to the bag for the force out.

But things came undone in the seventh when David Freese singled with one out, moved to third on Nick Punto's two-out base hit and scored when Craig took Ogando's 96 m.p.h. fastball to right.

Managerial chess was at play again in the eighth, when Washington pinch hit David Murphy for Craig Gentry to face Salas, prompting La Russa to counter with Rzepczynski. Washington sent in Yorvit Torrealba for Murphy, but he promptly struck out. The much maligned German was next up in Ogando's spot, and with a chance at redemption against Rzepczynski, weakly grounded to first to end the frame.

But La Russa's run of the table ended in the ninth, and in a span of four at-bats the Series went from one extreme to another.

"It was almost a great story for us," lamented La Russa. "Turned out to be a greater one for them."

Notes: Cardinals manager Tony La Russa avoided questions about how Chris Carpenter and his sore elbow emerged from Game 1, saying he hasn't had the chance to ask, but credited his ace right-hander for being "hockey tough." "The only thing I kidded him about was if he should have put his face in front of that spike (while making a diving stab of Albert Pujols' poor relay throw to first) and then he could have been bleeding the rest of the game and could have been another Curt Schilling. That would have been a hell of a sight, because he's always talked about how hockey players, they get gashed and they're still out there playing, and baseball players get taken out. So I haven't asked him." … With his single in the seventh, Freese has hit safely in 12 straight post-season games.

Shi Davidi is the MLB Insider for sportsnet.ca. Come back to read his insight and opinion regularly.