text: Game 2 While improving on their Game One performance, the Cards were again unable to hold the Twins offense and fell behind 7–0 before beginning to rally. The Cards' total of nine hits was just one short of the Twins but they managed only one double, against three doubles and two home runs hit by Minnesota. Gary Gaetti hit a homer in the second inning. The Twins broke the game open in the fourth, scoring six runs resulting in starter Danny Cox being pulled from the game. The final score was 8–4. Randy Bush and Tim Laudner each came through with a pair of two-run-scoring hits in the fourth, with Laudner's being a home run and Bush's being a double. Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings of two-run baseball for the win.
  Game 3
  Traveling down the Mississippi, to the open air of Busch Stadium, Game 3 saw a tense pitching duel between Twins starter Les Straker and John Tudor of the Cardinals. This match-up was also notable for Straker being the first Venezuelan to pitch in a World Series game.
  After five scoreless innings by both teams, the Twins broke through in the top of the sixth inning. Greg Gagne walked to lead off the inning, and Kirby Puckett walked to move Gagne into scoring position. Tom Brunansky's RBI single looked like all the offense the game would see.  But, in the bottom of the seventh, Juan Berenguer, in relief of Straker, surrendered leadoff back-to-back singles to Jose Oquendo and Tony Peña.  Terry Pendleton sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Vince Coleman slammed a two-run double to give the Cards a 2–1 lead.  Ozzie Smith followed by singling in Coleman for the final run, and Todd Worrell closed out saving the win for Tudor.