Wait, what?
The unshorn Boston Red Sox look like they belong out in the deep forest, cutting down trees and wrestling bears, but in reality they are now just three wins away from a World Series title that seems as improbable as seeing Jacoby Ellsbury with a beard...
...what with losing like a thousand games last season and picked by all of the baseball experts to finish last in the American League East.
And, yes. Here they are, the worst to first gang of piliferous Boys of Summer taking their furry act into the cool nights of late October and stomping a group of red birds from Missouri whose defense was inconsistent at best, vaudeville at worst.
There was a bases-clearing double, though it was Sox first baseman Mike Napoli doing the honors, slugging a left-center field gapper with two out in the bottom of the first inning off of St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright - and David Ortiz hit a two run homer in the seventh as the Red Sox punked the visiting Cardinals 8-1 in Game one of the World Series on Wednesday night.
The Cardnials appeared very calm coming into the contest, the result of veteran influence and perhaps one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball, but their relaxed demeanor carried over into the game, their defense committing three errors leading directly to four unearned runs for the Red Sox ...
...Boston starter Jon Lester hurling a gem for the hosts, allowing five hits and striking out eight in seven-plus innings of shutout ball, St. Louis scoring their lone run on a Matt Holliday solo job in the ninth off of Ryan Dempster - but it was far from enough as the Sox take a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
Game two is Thursday night, also at Fenway Park in Boston.
Napoli's drive into left center would not have existed but for the first error of the game, Cardinals' shortstop Pete Kozma mishandling a casual flip from Wainwright that should have been an inning ending double play on an Ortiz slow chopper.
Sox centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury led off the inning with a free pass and second baseman Dustin Pedroia advanced him to second after Shane Victorino flied out, setting the stage for Ortiz, whose bouncer was easily handled by Wainwright - the gold glove pitcher turning and flipping the ball to Kozma charging the bag...
...dropping the ball as it glanced off of his glove, though second base umpire Dana DeMuth ruled that Kozma had held the ball long enough to force Pedroia at second - but his crew mates immediately converged and overturned his ruling and the Red Sox were in business with the bases loaded and one out.
Three pitches later, Napoli's gapper drove in what proved to be the game winning runs.
The Red Sox loaded the bases again in the second inning, a pair of singles by shortstop Stephen Drew and catcher David Ross followed by a fielding error by Kozma on a Victorino. Pedroia singled in Drew, again setting the table for Ortiz, who responded by driving a Wainwright pitch toward the Boston bullpen...
...but Cardinals' centerfielder Carlos Beltran tracked it down and made the catch crashing into the wall, pulling the ball back into play. Ross tagged up and scored from third giving the Sox a 5-0 lead.
Ortiz got his revenge in the bottom of the seventh, sending another drive towards' the Sox bullpen - this time hitting it deep enough that no one could reach it, scoring Pedroia and giving Boston a 7-0 lead, which third baseman Xander Bogaerts expanded upon with a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score pinch-hitter Daniel Nava and give the Red Sox their final run of the evening.
St. Louis will try to even the score in Boston on Thursday night, sending rookie sensation Michael Wacha to the bump to face off against Red Sox starter John Lackey.
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