Rookie Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha saw his 18 2-3 inning scoreless streak broken in last night’s game at Fenway Park, courtesy of Big Papi himself, David Ortiz. Ortiz hit a two-run homer, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.
However, if the World Series’ first game was to be defined by St. Louis’ poor fielding, the roles were reversed last night. In the seventh inning, reliever Craig Breslow would give up three runs, starting with a sacrifice fly from Matt Carpenter that produced two runs after a double steal and a walk to load the bases. The third run would score thanks to errors by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Breslow.
The last run would come courtesy of an RBI single by Carlos Beltran, back in the Red Sox lineup after suffering from bruised ribs.
“We fully expected this to be a hard-fought series,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “Not surprising we’re in the position we are. In the seventh inning, we kind of contributed to the three runs allowed. This team has responded well to challenges on the road or at home.”
The win for the Cardinals may have also felt like a bit of revenge. Cardinals minor-league pitcher Tyler Melling speculated on Twitter Wednesday night that Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester might have used vaseline while pitching, which would be considered cheating.
Farrell insisted the substance was rosin, a perfectly legal sticky substance that allows pitchers to better control the ball. He said Lester always uses rosin because he “sweats like a pig.”
Game 3 takes place tomorrow at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
