It's game on as Cardinals level World Series
St Louis recover from shambolic opening game against Boston Red Sox as they head home in high spirits for game three on Saturday
Just when it seemed Michael Wacha had cracked, the St Louis Cardinals began scooting around the bases and levelled the World Series.
Wacha beat John Lackey in a match-up of present and past rookie sensations, and this time it was the Cardinals’ turn to take advantage of sloppy fielding as St Louis topped the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night in game two.
David Ortiz put Boston ahead in the sixth inning with a two-run homer just over the Green Monster in left, ending Wacha’s scoreless streak at 18 2/3 innings – a rookie record for a single postseason.
But then Lackey, who in 2002 with the Angels became the first rookie in 93 years to win a World Series seventh game, faltered in a three-run seventh. St Louis went ahead when Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly that led to a pair of runs, with the second scoring on errors by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and reliever Craig Breslow.
Carlos Beltran, back in the line-up after bruising ribs in the opener, followed with an RBI single. “I wanted to be in the line-up. I worked so hard to get to this point,” Beltran said. “Somebody would have to kill me in order for me to get out of the line-up.”
Somebody would have to kill me in order for me to get out of the line-up
When the series resumes on Saturday night in St Louis, Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox and Joe Kelly for the Cardinals. Twenty-nine of the previous 55 teams who won game two to tie the series went on to take the title.