Skull and Boneheads
The presence of 2004 champions Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke, Kevin Millar, Mike Timlin, Trot Nixon, Derek Lowe, and Pedro Martinez seemed to inspire the local nine.
As David Ortiz’s go-ahead two-run home run receded into that good night Fenway cheered in raucous exultation. The sixth-inning circuit clout put Ortiz ahead of Babe Ruth in postseason homers and tied the designated hitter with Carlos Beltran. The only active player from the 2004 Red Sox reminded the fans of the past and created new memories.
John Farrell pulled John Lackey in the next inning. The starter dispensed of Allen Craig in three pitches but then allowed a base on balls to David Freese and a frozen rope single off the bat of John Jay. The Red Sox skipper called on Craig Breslow to get out of the inning cleanly, but the southpaw reliever seemed unable to locate his pitches in the evening’s chill. Jarrod Saltalamacchia didn’t help by failing to get any runners out on a double steal. Breslow walked the nine-hole hitter Daniel Descalso to load the bases.
Matt Carpenter floated a can of corn to Jonny Gomes. Gomes’s throw was up the line and Saltalamacchia failed to block the ball. That gave Breslow, who was backing up home plate, the opportunity to field the ball. As his pitchers were missing the paint so did his throw to third miss Stephen Drew’s glove.
Not that he should have predicted that Breslow would attempt to be hero and fail so horrifically, but if Xander Bogaerts wants to earn his comparisons to Derek Jeter he could have back up Drew at third. St. Louis plated the tying and go-ahead runs on the two-error sequence.
Farrell stayed with Breslow after that harrowing play and Beltran drove in an insurance run with a well-struck single to right.
Two other Red Sox relievers proved equal to the task of stifling the Cardinals batters. But St. Louis rookie relievers Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal combined for three shutout innings with one hit, no walks, and six strikeouts. No doubt the young pitchers were aided by the presence of Yadier Molina, the Cardinals’ sole holdover from 2004, behind the plate.
| World Series Game 2: October 24, 2013 | ||
 St. Louis Cardinals1-1 |
4 | W: Michael Wacha (1-0) H: Carlos Martinez (1) S: Trevor Rosenthal (1) |
| 3B: Matt Holliday (1) | ||
| Boston Red Sox 1-1 |
2 | L: John Lackey (0-1) BS: Craig Breslow (1) |
| 2B: Dustin Pedroia (1) HR: David Ortiz (2) | ||
