Cardinals, Tigers play series before sparse TV audience

ST. LOUIS -- World Series television ratings are as meager as the Detroit Tigers' offense.

The St. Louis Cardinals' 5-0 victory Tuesday night was the lowest-rated Game 3 in Series history, and the three-game average also was the lowest ever.

Game 3 drew a 10.2 fast national rating and 17 share, Fox said Wednesday, down 7 percent from the 11.0 rating last year for the 7-5, 14-inning win by the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros. The previous record low for Game 3 was the 10.8 rating for the Anaheim Angels' 10-4 win over the San Francisco Giants in 2002.

The three-game average of 9.9/17 was down 7 percent from the previous low of 10.6/19, set last year.

"We're going for a World Series title. I'm not worried about the TV ratings," Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander said.

In St. Louis, the game got a 51.9 rating and 66 share, and in Detroit it received a 37.1 rating and 52 share. Fox spokesman Lou D'Ermilio said that because smaller markets are involved in the World Series this year, about 1 million fewer homes from the local teams are tuned in.

The national rating is the percentage of U.S. television households tuned to a program, and each point represents 1,114,000 homes. The share is the percentage of households watching a broadcast among those homes with televisions in use at the time.