St. Louis made all the mistakes in losing Game 1 of the 2013 World Series.
In Thursday’s Game 2, it was Boston’s turn.
After David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, St. Louis bounced back with three runs in the top of the seventh inning and closer Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to seal the 4-2 victory in Boston and a split in the best of seven World Series.
The teams take a travel on Friday to St. Louis, where the Cardinals have taken home-field advantage and will host the Red Sox at 8:07 p.m. Saturday. Boston sends Jake Peavy to the mound while St. Louis counters with Joe Kelly.
St. Louis made three errors – not including a base hit pop up between the catcher and pitcher – that allowed Boston a 5-0 lead after two innings in Game 1. Boston won the game 8-1 and looked to take control of the series Thursday.
After Ortiz took a curtain call following his second homer of the series, leading the fans at Fenway Park into a frenzy, St. Louis responded with a David Freese’s one-out walk and John Jay’s single to put two on in the top of the seventh. Pete Kozma – who committed two errors in Game 1 – pinch ran for Freese and after a double steal, Daniel Descalso drew a walk to load the bases.
Matt Carpenter then hit a flyball to Boston left fielder Jonny Gomes who fired just to the right of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to score Kozma and tie the game at 2-2. The ball trickled away from Saltalamacchia for an error and Jay sprinted toward third as Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow picked up the ball and fired high of shortstop Stephen Drew, who was covering third. The ball bounced into the stands for another error, allowing Jay to score and give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. Carlos Beltran then singled home Descalso from third base for the 4-2 lead.
The Cardinals, who took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Matt Holliday’s triple and Yadier Molina’s RBI single, got a solid start from postseason rookie sensation Michael Wacha. The 22-year-old spread his scoreless innings streak to 18 before Ortiz’s two-run homer. Wach allowed just two runs on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts in six innings
St. Louis’s young bullpen took over from there. Carlos Martinez , another 22-year old, came on for two innings of shutout relief. Martinez surrendered just one hit and struck out three batters as 19 of his 24 pitches went for strikes.
Rosenthal, a veteran at 23-years-old, needed just 11 pitches to retire the final three outs. Rosenthal struck out Gomes, Saltalamacchia and pinch-hitter Daniel Nava to even the series.
“We needed to win and we came out and battled,” Rosenthal told MLB Network after the game. “There is a big series ahead of us..”
John Lackey suffered the loss despite a solid effort in 6 1/3 innings on the bump for Boston. Lackey allowed three runs on five hits and walked two with six strikeouts.
“This is that time of the year that with what our guys have proven over the long haul, we are going to be ready for the challenge,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “There’s a great environment over there in St. Louis.
“With the exception of one inning, we’ve thrown the ball well on the mound and we expect that to continue.”
