The Detroit Tigers swept their way into the World Series Saturday, taking four straight from the Oakland Athletics to earn an entire week off while waiting for their opponent to be decided. The St. Louis Cardinals seemed to emerge as the favorite by winning Game 2 in New York and claiming Game 3 back on their home field on Saturday. Jeff Suppan and Josh Kinney limited the Mets to three hits in a 5-0 victory, and with New York forced to call on Oliver Perez in Game 4, a quick Mets exit seemed possible. The Mets' bats awoke, however, stroking 14 hits and plating 12 runs in a 12-5 pasting of the Cardinals Sunday evening. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa's decision to pinch-hit for starter Anthony Reyes in the fourth inning of a 2-2 game led to a run explosion against five Cardinal relievers. Now it appears we and the Tigers will have baseball games to watch for most of the week. Reyes had thrown 86 pitches and probably wouldn't have worked more than another inning or two, but he had successfully dodged trouble on the mound before he was pulled for pinch-hitter Chris Duncan in the fourth with two out and Ronnie Belliard on second base. Duncan grounded out and the carnage began. With the series tied two games apiece, the NLCS is guaranteed to return to Flushing. The home team has had a phenomenal record in Games 6 and 7 over the last 20 years of playoff action, so a Mets victory on Monday night could be a big step toward a Mets-Tigers World Series. A St. Louis win at home Monday sets up a Chris Carpenter-John Maine pitching matchup and a possible Cards clinch in Game 6. The Mets' Tom Glavine and Jeff Weaver of the Cardinals will pitch on Monday -- both on three days' rest -- and the team that wins will be positioned to advance. In light of the way the momentum has swung a couple of times in the NLCS, no matter who wins on Monday, there's a chance baseball fans will see a seven-game series that won't wrap up until Thursday.