Game 1: Red Sox 8, Cardinals 1

Game 1 just started off bad for Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals. Wainwright, the 6’7’’ giant, hit his head in the dugout before going out for the bottom of the 1^st. The Cardinals also dealt with two errors by Pete Kozma, a reversed call by the umpires, an error by Wainwright, and an injury to Carlos Beltran. To top it all off, they were mastered by John Lester, and only scored a run in the 9^th. By then, it was much too late.

Apparently before the game during batting practice, OF Johnny Gomes for the Red Sox hit laser to the green monster, knocking off the number “50” on the wall. Guess who just happens to wear the number 50? Wainwright. Maybe curses do exist, at least in baseball.

The first and second innings had all of the action. With men on 1^st and 2^nd base, David Ortiz hit a ground ball to second base that looked like an inning-ending double play, but when Matt Carpenter threw the ball to SS Pete Kozma, the ball slipped out of his glove. Dana Demuth, the 2^nd base umpire, ruled the runner, Dustin Pedroia, out, saying that Kozma had the ball, but lost it on the throw.

 

Looking at replays, this obviously wasn’t the case. Kozma just had the ball slip out of his glove, and he never had possession. However, the umpires got together and ruled Pedroia back to 2^nd base, and to charge and error on Kozma.

 

The Cardinals, as they rightfully should be, were irate at the call. Instead of two outs, there was only one out, and the bases were loaded. Stepping in: Mike Napoli.

Napoli, as he’s done all postseason, comes in the clutch. He drives a ball into the left center gap that clears the bases. All of the sudden, instead of an inning ending double play, it’s 3-0 Red Sox.

 

The second inning wasn’t anything better. It started off with a Steven Drew popup between Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina. Wainwright looked like he had it, but the ball drops right in between them instead. Another error by the Cardinals. They just look sloppy now.

A couple of base hits and another error by Kozma loads the bases, and this is the most trouble that the Cardinals had all night. It’s now a 4-0 game, and guess who steps in? David Ortiz. Remember, Ortiz hit a grand slam in Game 2 of the ALCS, a ball that just barely went out and that Hunter might have had a chance to get.

This time, Ortiz hits one that once again would barely leave the ballpark. But instead of leaving the ballpark and go into the Red Sox’s bullpen, right fielder Carlos Beltran, in his first World Series game, reaches out and robs David Ortiz. Ortiz would get a sac fly, and it’d move to 5-0 Red Sox, but oh man did he almost hit one out.

The amazing catch, however, came at a cost. As you can see, Beltran hit the wall hard making the catch. He felt uncomfortable in his chest, and would leave the game. It looks like he will not be playing Game 2.

This is a HUGE loss for the Cardinals. Not only do you get embarrassed in Game 1, but now you lose one of their best hitters, who is also one of the greatest postseason players of all time. It’ll be interesting to see how they adjust to it. They’ll probably put in Shane Robinson in right field, and have Jon Jay start in Centerfield. Jay replaced Beltran in Game 1.

Who expected the small wall in right field to have a big impact, and not the Green Monster?

Ortiz was robbed of a grand slam, but that didn’t stop him in the game. He would hit one out in the 7^th off lefty Kevin Siegrist. I mentioned yesterday to watch this matchup between Siegrist and Ortiz, but I expected Siegrist to win the duel. This season, Siegrist did not give up a SINGLE HOME RUN against lefties. Left-handed batters were virtually unhittable, yet Ortiz crushes one out, this time a no-doubter.

Jon Lester was masterful in Game 1. He would shut out the Cards in 7 2/3 innings, and the Red Sox would go on to win, 8-1. He only had one tough situation, and that was in the fourth, when he had bases loaded with one out. He escaped with a grounder back to the mound, and completed a 1-2-3 double play. You don’t see that very often. 

However, there may be a reason why he pitched so well, and it's not because of talent. Videos and pictures suggest that Lester may have been doctoring the ball, applying some substance each time. From what I have heard, there is not conclusive evidence of this, but it'll probably be blown up more today and tomorrow anyways.

The Game 1 victor has gone on to win 21 of the last 25 World Series. In the previous two World Series’ that the Red Sox were in (2004 and 2007), they crushed in Game 1. Why not do it again?

Game 2 is a must-win situation for the Cardinals, and it’s all up to rookie sensation Michael Wacha, the NLCS MVP. Wacha needs to watch his pitch count; Wainwright pitched 112 pitches in five innings, and was in the seventies by the end of the second inning. Just throwing strikes won’t help much either, as the Red Sox have been ruthless against pitchers. Wacha needs to trick the Red Sox, bringing out great stuff early to silence the crowd. That’s how the Cards can win this game.

It’ll be a big comeback if the Cardinals can do it, but I think the Red Sox will take this one. John Lackey had a sensational outing last time, which was on the road against the Detroit Tigers. That’s always hard to do anyways. I like this pitching matchup, but I don’t think it’ll be one-sided like yesterday. It’ll be high-scoring too.

Game 2 is here, and it might just be the most important game of the series. Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd