First Inning
Cardinals P Joe Kelly started off impressively, striking out CF Jacoby Ellsbury and forcing RF Shane Victorino and 2B Dustin Pedroia. LF Carlos Beltran put down a beautiful sacrifice bunt, moving 2B Matt Carpenter to third before LF Matt Holliday singled to right to score Carpenter. C Yardier Molina scored Holliday, singling to left field to put the Cardinals up 2-0, adding to P Jake Peavy's postseason pitching woes, going through seven batters in the first inning.
Cardinals up on the Red Sox 2-0 to start off the game.
Second Inning
Cardinal P Joe Kelly continues to roll, forcing 1B David Ortiz, RF Daniel Nava, and SS Xander Bogaerts to ground out for another 1-2-3 inning. Boston P Jake Peavy settled down, getting SS Pete Kozma and 2B Matt Carpenter to pop up and striking out P Joe Kelly.
Third Inning
Cardinal P Joe Kelly pitches another 1-2-3 inning striking out C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and SS Stephen Drew while getting P Jake Peavy to ground out. Peavy struck out Carlos Beltran to start off his half of the 3rd inning, and was helped by 2B Dustin Pedroia after CF Jacoby Ellsbury misplayed a pop up. Pedroia threw out Matt Holliday who rounded first and got caught up in a base-running error, failing to capitalize on Ellsbury mistake. Peavy finished the inning striking out 1B Matt Adams.
Fourth Inning
CF Jacoby Ellsbury singled to right to finally get the Red Sox a hit in the game, but Cardinal P Joe Kelly kept his cool, getting RF Shane Victorino to foul out, 2B Dustin Pedroia to pop up, and struck out LF Daniel Nava after walking 1B David Ortiz to end the inning.
Peavy ran into problems to start the inning, giving up a single to C Yadier Molina, walking 3B David Freese, and giving up a single CF Jon Jay to load the bases with no outs. But Peavy bounced back striking out Pete Kozma, and getting both Kelly and Matt Carpenter to pop out to end the inning.
I cannot see Peavy lasting much longer in this game and considering he has grinded away in two out of the four innings.
Fifth Inning
Cardinals P Joe Kelly gave up a triple to SS Xander Bogaerts after RF Carlos Beltran misplayed a ball that fell into the right-center field gap. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew a walk but struck out SS Stephen Drew. Mike Carp came in to pinch hit for P Jake Peavy, with runners on the corners, and grounded into a fielder's choice, allowing Bogaerts to score. Kelly ended the inning striking out CF Jacoby Ellsbury to get out of the jam.
P Felix Doubront steps up to the mound in relief of Jake Peavy, RF Carlos Beltran to fly out to center and LF Matt Holliday to ground out. After 1b Matt Adams to doubled to left, Doubront walked C Yardier Molina and got 3B David Freese to pop out to end the inning.
Boston cuts down the lead to 2-1 to the Cardinals.
Sixth Inning
Cardinals P Joe Kelly gave up walk to RF Shane Victorino to start off the inning, but got 2B Dustin Pedroia before getting pulled from the game by manager Mike Matheny. Randy Choate came in for relief but singled to 1B David Ortiz leaving runners on the corner. Seth Maness came in for Choate, who gave up a single to LF Daniel Nava, scoring Victorino from third before forcing SS Xander Bogaerts into a double-play to end the inning.
P Felix Doubront pitched a 1-2-3 inning with help from 2B Dustin Pedrioa, who played excellent defense on CF Jon Jay's bunt. Doubront got SS Pete Kozma and pinch hitter Shane Robinson to pop out and end the inning.
Boston ties the game 2-2.
Seventh Inning
P Kevin Siegris came in relief and got C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to strike out while getting pinch hitters Will Middlebrook and Jonny Gomes to pop out to end the inning. The Red Sox moved Xander Bogaerts to third base and Middlebrook, in for Stephen Drew, to shortstop with Craig Breslow on the mound for Boston. 2B Matt Carpenter beat out the throw to first for an infield single to start the inning and LF Carlos Beltran got hit by a pitch before Breslow was yanked for P Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa came in and gave up a two-run double to LF Matt Holliday, who advanced to third after the throw to home. Tazawa settled down, getting 1B Matt Adams and C Yadier Molina to strike out swinging, and forcing CF Jon Jay to pop out to center after walking 3B David Freese to end the inning.
The Cardinals are up 4-2 over the Red Sox.
Eighth Inning
Carlos Martinez on the mound for the Cardinals and Daniel Descalso at 3B after pinch-running for David Freese in the 7th inning. Martinez gave up a single to CF Jacoby Ellsbury and hit RF Shane Victorino with a pitch. 2B Dustin Pedroia grounded out towards the shortstop, moving the runners into scoring position before 1B David Ortiz was intentionally walked. Trevor Rosenthal steps in for Martinez who got LF Daniel Nava to ground into a double-play, after a great defensive play by 2B Kolten Wong, with Ellsbury scoring on the play. Rosenthal gave up a single to 3B Xander Bogaerts, scoring Victorino from third, tying up the ball game. Rosenthal got C Jarrod Saltalamacchia ground out to end the inning.
P Brandon Workman in for the Red Sox, who got Pete Kozma to pop out to start the inning. Wong singled to right and later stole second base after 3B Matt Carpenter popped out to the shortstop. Workman intentionally walked RF Carlos Beltran before LF Matt Holliday flied out to left field to end the inning.
The Red Sox tie the game 4-4.
Ninth Inning
Trevor Rosenthal still in the ninth and had a 1-2-3 inning, starting off by striking out SS Will Middlebrook and P Brandon Workman to start off the inning, then getting CF Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out to third.
Workman still in the game and struck out 1B Matt Adams to start the inning but was replaced by Koji Uehara after Workman gave up a single to C Yadier Molina. Uehara would give up a double to pinch-hitter Adam Craig, in for Rosenthal, moving Molina to third. CF Jon Jay, hit into a fielder's choice, with 2B Dustin Pedroia getting Molina out at home but C Jarrod Saltalamacchia making a throwing error over at third, allowing Craig to hustle home, sliding awkwardly into the plate and getting the "safe"call from the umpire.
SS Will Middlebrook, covering third, was called for obstruction by the third base umpire after lifting his legs to prevent Craig from getting a clear path to home plate. The obstruction call awards Craig home plate, giving the Cardinals the victory in one of the weirdest endings to a World Series game.
With the 5-4 victory in Game 3, the Cardinals take a 2-1 game lead over the Red Sox going into tomorrows Game 4.
Preview
The St. Louis Cardinals return home for Game 3 of the World Series after splitting in Fenway Park over the week, including a Game 1 performance against the Red Sox that had the visiting flustered with the dimensions of the field.
"Everyone is familiar with our home stomping grounds," said St. Louis outfielder Shane Robinson. "You get the fans cheering for you. Obviously, it's a little easier to play in your hometown. I think that's a big reason why we were successful toward the end."
Another strong Michael Wacha start, in Game 2, settled the Cardinals down, going six innings, striking out six giving up only three hits - including a two-run home run to designated hitter David Ortiz, with the Cardinals bullpen of Carlos Martinez, Mike Napoli, and Trevor Rosenthal locking down the Red Sox's bats to tie the series up at one game apiece going into Saturday night's game.
Ortiz, who has provided much of the power to the Red Sox batting lineup, will play first base, a position he is not accustomed to playing, since there is no designated hitters rules in National League parks, a distinct defensive disadvantage for Boston.
The Cardinals will send Joe Kelly to the mound, who had two good outings in the playoffs, before running into trouble in Game 5 of the NLCS, losing to the Dodgers by giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings, and going 0-1 with an ERA of 4.41 in the postseason.
The Red Sox will start 2007 National League Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy, whom Boston acquired in a mid-season trade. Peavy has a history of postseason struggles, most recently in the ACLS against the Tigers, giving up five runs in the second inning of Game 4 against the Tigers, seven total in three innings work. But Peavy has put that behind him and is looking forward to exorcising his past poor performances.
"This is what I've lived for my whole life, my whole baseball career, I should say," said Peavy. "I'm as prepared as I'll ever be physically, mentally."
TV Schedule
You can catch Game 5 of the Boston Red Sox - Detroit Tigers American League Championship Series Thursday night at 8 p.m EST on Fox.
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