...coming off the ropes to deliver a haymaker in the style of a mean counter puncher to take the round and even things up going into the fifth.
 |
| Catcher David Ross celebrates his tie-breaking double |
In baseball vernacular, the Red Sox took back their home field advantage with Sunday night's 4-2 win in St. Louis to even the World Series at two game a piece, accomplishing what game four hero Gomes lauded as the team's goal of winning at least one game in the Gateway City and taking the series back to Fenway Park with a chance to win the championship in front of their hometown fans.
Thanks to staff ace Jon Lester and catcher David Ross, they can do that on Wednesday night.
Lester tossed seven and two thirds innings of four hit ball and battery mate Ross broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh with an RBI double as the Red Sox took two of three games from the Cardinals in St. Louis and are now on the verge of yet another world title after a 3-1 victory over the Red Birds on Monday night.
Koji Uehara got the final out of the eighth inning and pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the World Series - and now the Red Sox have the opportunity to clinch the title for the third time in ten years and at home for the first time in nearly a century.
Lester dealt straight with the Cardinals' hitters, striking out seven and walking none - giving up one earned run on a Matt Holliday home run in a morbidly efficient outing, throwing 61 strikes on 91 total pitches in picking up his second win of the series. Cardinals' ace Adam Wainwright started shaky but settled in before being chased after yielding two of his three runs allowed in his disastrous seventh.
Boston served notice that the momentum would stay with them in their first at bat of the game, second baseman Dustin Pedroia lining a hanging slider from Wainwright to the wall in left field for a double, then scored on a David Ortiz double down the right field line to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.
Ortiz continued his other-worldly offensive assault in these playoffs, batting a mind boggling .733 for a series that he is sure to be Most Valuable Player of the World Series should the Red Sox be able to win one of two at Fenway.
Matt Holliday got hold of a rare Lester beach ball in the bottom of the fourth, hammering a 1-0 pitch into the grass over the wall in dead center to tie the game at 1-1.
Both pitchers settled in through the middle innings, but that changed very rapidly in the top of the seventh for Wainwright - starting the inning whiffing Daniel Nava before third baseman Xander Bogaerts singled to center...
...moved over to second when Wainwright issued a walk to shortstop Stephen Drew, setting the stage for Ross' double just inside the left field line, scoring Bogaerts and advancing Drew to third. Lester grounded out and then centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury dropped a single in front of charging Cardinals' centerfielder Shane Robinson to score Drew, making the score 3-1.
Lester pitched into the bottom of the eighth, Sox manager John Farrell pulling a double switch after St. Louis third baseman David Freeze doubled down the right field lane, pulling Lester and Bringing in Uehara and also Mike Napoli for Big Papi at first base, who appeared to tweak an ankle running out a single in the top of the inning.
So now it comes down to game six at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday night to complete an improbable run, going from bottom feeders in the American League East in 2012 to being on the verge of their thrid World Series title in the past decade this season.
The Sox came off the ropes in game four to take back the momentum, then staggered the Red Birds with a couple of big blows in Game five - and now we'll see if the Cardinals have the heart to come off the ropes and force a game seven.
The Red Sox hope for a knockout.
No comments:
Post a Comment