updated 2:38 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2006

ST. LOUIS - Almost every ball David Eckstein hit was trouble for the Tigers.

Helped by a soggy field, St. Louis’ scrappy shortstop delivered two key doubles that gave the Cardinals a firm grip on a World Series that’s quickly slipping away from Detroit.

Eckstein’s tiebreaking double to left field glanced off the glove of a diving Craig Monroe in the eighth inning, and the Cardinals capitalized on Detroit’s sloppy defense for a 5-4 victory Thursday night in Game 4.

“I just needed to find some holes,” Eckstein said. “It’s nice to actually have a little luck involved.”

But St. Louis manager Tony La Russa says it’s much more than that.

“He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever seen in a uniform,” La Russa said.

After Curtis Granderson slipped in center trying for an earlier ball hit by Eckstein, rekindling memories of Curt Flood in the 1968 Series between these teams, St. Louis took a 3-1 lead to move within one win of its first championship in 24 years.

Jeff Weaver can wrap it up Friday night at Busch Stadium when he pitches against rookie Justin Verlander. Each lost his first Series start.

One word of caution, Cardinals rooters: St. Louis had a 3-1 lead in ’68, too, before Detroit rallied to win behind lefty Mickey Lolich.

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The decisive hit that time came when Flood, a Gold Glove center fielder, slipped on Jim Northrup’s two-out, two-run triple off Cardinals ace Bob Gibson to break a scoreless tie in the seventh inning of Game 7 — right across the street, where the old Busch Stadium stood.

This time, the 5-foot-7 Eckstein hit three doubles and a single as St. Louis overcame an early 3-0 deficit in a wild comeback and closed in on its 10th World Series title. The last team to squander a 3-1 Series lead, however, was the 1985 Cardinals against Kansas City.

After a rainout Wednesday night, only the second World Series washout in 20 years, showers were expected again Thursday. But the heavy stuff stayed away on a 53-degree night and much of the back-and-forth game was played in a light mist that obscured the Gateway Arch beyond center field.

The mist got heavier in the sixth, though, and the Tigers began to struggle with the elements.

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With St. Louis trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Eckstein hit a drive to right-center that Granderson appeared to have in his sights before he slipped to the slick turf, kicking up a huge divot. The ball fell for an easy double.

“I went to plant my feet and they just went out from under me,” Granderson said. “It was just a freak thing. If I stand up, I catch it easily.

“It wasn’t just wet,” he added. “It was wet and soft.”

Pinch-hitter So Taguchi dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and reliever Fernando Rodney rushed an off-balance throw over the head of Placido Polanco covering at first base, allowing Eckstein to score the tying run.

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“I didn’t position myself the right way to pick up the ball and make the perfect throw,” Rodney said. “I also didn’t want to toss it very strong because the fielder is trying to get to the base. It just went badly out of my hand.”

It was the fourth error by a Tigers pitcher in four games, a record for one pitching staff in the World Series.

“Obviously, it was a little bit of a freak inning,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “It’s not our best fielding in the world, but that’s baseball.”

After an intentional walk to Albert Pujols and two strikeouts, Preston Wilson singled to left against Rodney to give St. Louis a 4-3 lead.

But Ivan Rodriguez opened the eighth with a double and Brandon Inge tied it with a double off rookie closer Adam Wainwright, who avoided further damage by striking out pinch-hitter Alexis Gomez and Granderson.

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That set the stage for St. Louis’ final rally. Yadier Molina drew a leadoff walk from Joel Zumaya before Aaron Miles beat out a potential double-play ball.

Miles moved up when strike three to Juan Encarnacion got past Rodriguez for a wild pitch, and Eckstein hit a drive to left-center.

Monroe sprinted to his left and laid out with a desperate dive, but the ball ticked off the tip of his glove. The left fielder lay prone on the grass as Miles scored the go-ahead run.

“Facing Zumaya, you want to make sure you don’t try to overswing,” Eckstein said. “I got a fastball and was able to get on top just enough, just barely out of the reach of Craig Monroe, who almost made one heck of a catch.”

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