Red Sox rout Cardinals in World Series opener

An easy toss on a sure out that skittered away. A routine pop-up that somehow dropped between Gold Glovers. And something even more startling – umpires reversing a key call.

Mike Napoli hit a three-run double right after a game-changing decision in the very first inning, Jon Lester made the early lead stand up and the Boston Red Sox romped past the sloppy St Louis Cardinals 8-1 in the World Series opener on Wednesday night.

A season before Major League Baseball is expected to expand instant replay, fans got to see a preview. The entire six-man crew huddled and flipped a ruling on a forceout at second base – without looking at any video.

“I think based on their group conversation, surprisingly, to a certain extent, they overturned it and I think got the call right,” Boston manager John Farrell said.

Most everything went right for the Red Sox in their ninth straight World Series win.

David Ortiz was robbed of a grand slam by Carlos Beltran – a catch that sent the star rightfielder to a hospital with bruised ribs – but Big Papi later hit a two-run homer following third baseman David Freese’s bad throw.

The Red Sox also capitalised on two errors by shortstop Pete Kozma to extend a Series winning streak that began when they swept St Louis in 2004. Boston never trailed at any point in those four games and coasted on this rollicking night at Fenway Park, thanks to a hideous display by the Cardinals,

It got so bad for St Louis that the sellout crowd literally laughed when pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina, who’ve combined to win six Gold Gloves, let an easy pop-up drop untouched between them.

Serious-minded St Louis manager Mike Matheny didn’t find anything funny, especially when the umpires changed a call by Dana DeMuth at second base.

“Basically, the explanation is that’s not a play I’ve ever seen before. And I’m pretty sure there were six umpires on the field that had never seen that play before, either,” Matheny said.

“It’s a pretty tough time to debut that overruled call in the World Series. Now, I get that they’re trying to get the right call, I get that. Tough one to swallow,” he said.

DeMuth said he never actually saw Kozma drop the ball. “My vision was on the foot. And when I was coming up, all I could see was a hand coming out and the ball on the ground. All right? So I was assuming,” DeMuth said.

There was no dispute, however, that the umpires properly ruled Kozma had not caught a soft toss from second baseman Matt Carpenter on a potential forceout. That’s what crew chief John Hirschbeck told Matheny.

“I just explained to him ... that five of us were 100 per cent sure,” Hirschbeck said. “Our job is to get the play right. And that’s what we did. I said, ‘I know you are not happy with it, that it went against you, but you have to understand that the play is correct’.”

The normally slick-fielding Cardinals looked sloppy at every turn. Wainwright bounced a pick-off throw, Molina let a pitch trickle off his mitt, centrefielder Shane Robinson bobbled the carom on Napoli’s double and there was a wild pitch.

The Cardinal Way? More like, no way.

“We had a wake-up call. That is not the kind of team that we’ve been all season,” Matheny said. “And they’re frustrated. I’m sure embarrassed to a point.”

Game two is on Thursday night, with 22-year-old rookie sensation Michael Wacha starting for St Louis against John Lackey. Wacha is 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA this postseason.