The Boston Red Sox drew first blood on Wednesday with a dominant 8-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, but faces a formidable challenge in Game 2 of the World Series Thursday at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox steamrolled their way to an overwhelming victory in the series opener behind an outstanding pitching performance by Jon Lester (five hits with eight strikeouts over 7.2 innings) and clutch hitting from Mike Napoli and David Ortiz, who each drove in three runs.
Then again, despite a sensational win in Game 1, the Series remains wide open, especially when the Cardinals are fielding their other weapon next on the mound: Michael Wacha.
Wacha Batting?
Fresh from bagging the National League Championship Series, Wacha is expected to give the entire Red Sox batting unit a tougher task at the plate in Game 2. The 22-year-old hurler blanked the prolific Los Angeles Dodgers slugging rotation over 13 2/3 innings and contained them to just .149 batting average against (BAA). This terrific feat helped Wacha become just the fourth rookie to win the NLCS MVP following Larry Sherry (1959), Mike Boddicker (1983), and Liván Hernández (1997).
"I'm just trying not to think too much about it, just trying to approach every game the same, trying not to get too caught up in the moment," Wacha told press ahead of Game 2 via ESPN. "I'm sure after the season, I'll be able to look back and think about, 'Hey, I pitched in the World Series,' and that kind of stuff. So, you know, right now just trying to get focused on the next start coming up and just go from there."
Beards Onslaught
Napoli and Ortiz will once again lead the charge for the Red Sox batting unit on Thursday. Napoli, who has now collected 21 RBIs in the postseason since 2011, will look to produce another evening of clutch play just like what he did in Game 1.
John Lackey has been given the nod to start for Game 2 after going 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA this postseason. Like other hurlers this postseason, Lackey all kinds of distraction, but he insisted that he remains focus on his next assignment on the mound.
"I'm not really concerned about some of that outside stuff," Lackey said. "I know who I was in the clubhouse and where I stood with the guys in the clubhouse. That means more to me than anything. You want to be on a good team. You want to try to help out the boys. You want to pull your weight. And that's been fun this year."
Live Stream & Schedule
Coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox, World Series Game 2 will begin 7:30 p.m on FOX. The game can be streamed online via MLB Postseason TV while Audio Streaming is available on ESPN Radio. Live Scores and Boxscores Information is available on ESPN World Series Coverage.