Game 2: Cardinals 4, Red Sox 2

Game 2 was great. And I’m stressing the word “was.” All of a sudden, after some great pitching duels and yet another home run by the miraculous David Ortiz, the Red Sox, literally, threw the game away. It was bad baseball.

The Cardinals new that they had to get back after an embarrassing Game 1. They now had rookie sensation Michael Wacha on the mound, and Carlos Beltran, who injured himself, was in the lineup.

 

The game didn’t strike on the board until the 4^th inning, when Matt Holliday hits a deep ball that lands in that awkward part in center field in Fenway (see below). It gets past Jacoby Ellsbury, and the Holliday has him a leadoff triple. 

 

A lineout to Dustin Pedroia would make it one out, but then Yadier Molina would hit a ground ball just over pitcher John Lackey, and the Cardinals strike first on a groundout. It was a productive out, especially after the lineout. When it was suddenly one out, you had a feeling that the Red Sox might have had their chance to get out of the inning. Molina proved that wrong.

Boston had plenty of chances to score. They had men on first and second base with no outs in the bottom of the 4^th, but Michael Wacha would get out of it with a double play and a flyout.

Wacha would pitch great, going six innings and giving up only three hits. He was a little out of control though; that might be because of the patient bats that the Red Sox have, or a mix of both. He finished with a 6/4 K/BB ratio. He was able to get himself out of jams, but only made one mistake.

That mistake, however, turned the game around, as Big Papi would hit one over the green monster, scoring Dustin Pedroia. All of a sudden, it was 2-1.

The next half inning was hell for the Red Sox. They just looked bad, to be honest. David Freese would reach second base with one out after a single by Jon Jay, so now there are men on first and second. The Red Sox starter, John Lackey, was pulled.

Lackey would go 6 1/3, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six. He gave up three runs, but only two should really be charged to him. Craig Breslow would come in relief

Pete Kozma would come in for David Freese at second to pinch run. Remember, Kozma was the guy that made two errors in Game 1.

After stealing only three times in the postseason, the Cardinals double steal. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the catcher for Boston, would have been able to throw Kozma out, but he bobbles the ball. All runners safe.

SS/3B Daniel Descalso would be intentionally walked, leaving it up to Matt Carpenter. Carpenter would hit a sac fly to Jonny Gomes. It looks like they might have had a play, but Saltalamacchia misses the ball. The game is tied. Oh, but how can things get any worse? Jay tries to move to third, and Craig Breslow would throw it.

Oh, but it’s always chilling to watch pitchers throw it to bases. Breslow throws it over 3B Xander Bogaerts, and it bounces into the stands. Breslow would be charged with an error, and Jay scores. All of a sudden, the Cardinals have the lead.

It was sloppy baseball. To make matters worse for Boston, Carlos Beltran would smack Daniel Descalso in. 4-2 Cardinals.

It would remain that way throughout, as the Cardinals had amazing relief to go behind Wacha. They had help from their defense too, as Kozma would redeem himself with an amazing one handed snag on a groundout. Chris Martinez would pitch two innings of scoreless ball, and Trevor Rosenthal would strike out the side in the 9^th. The series is tied.

The Cardinals were not that good in Game 2, it’s just that the Red Sox were not any better. The series now moves to St. Louis. It’ll be Jake Peavy (12-5, 4.17 ERA) against Joe Kelly (10-5, 2.69 ERA). More on it tomorrow, because Game 3 will be played Saturday at 6:30 PM CT.

SIDE NOTE: Nationals hire Matt Williams as their new manager, sources say. Williams was a third base coach for the D-Backs, and will replace Davey Johnson in Washington. He played 17 seasons in the MLB, hitting 378 home runs in his career, and having one World Series ring (2001 Diamondbacks).

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd