Red Sox Rally to Tie World Series at Two Games Apiece

Boston shows grit in what is shaping up into a thrilling Fall Classic

By Russ Reed

AP / Winlow Townson

Once again, the Boston Red Sox had their backs to the wall. Down 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning with their starting pitcher effectively out of gas, the Sox looked like they were destined to fall down 3-1 to the Cardinals with a Game 5 in St. Louis.  Not to mention that all of this was happening after losing Game 3 in the bottom of the ninth on an obstruction call.  But Boston showed as much resiliency as they have all season and fought back to knot up the series.

David Ortiz, one of the most clutch players in postseason history, sparked Boston’s offense by hitting a leadoff double into the right-center gap.  After back-to-back walks, struggling shortstop Stephen Drew drove in Ortiz on a sac fly to left field to tie the game at one.

The injured and fatigued Clay Buchholz was then relieved by Felix Doubront, who pitched two innings of relief the night before.  Yet Doubront was solid, surrendering only one run in 2 2/3 innings.

In the midst of that stretch, Jonny Gomes got his first hit of the World Series, and it couldn’t have been any bigger.  Interestingly enough, Gomes wasn’t even supposed to start Game 4, but Shane Victorino’s late scratch from the lineup opened up the leftfield spot with Daniel Nava having to move to right. 

With two outs in the top of the sixth, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia and walked David Ortiz.  Lynn was then pulled for right-handed sinker-ball pitcher Seth Maness.  Maness had a 2-2 count on Gomes but left the fifth pitch of the at-bat up.  Gomes took immediate advantage and launched a three-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen beyond the leftfield fence.

But the three-run lead did not last for long.  After allowing his first hit of the night, Doubront was pulled for left-handed reliever Craig Breslow, who is having a rough World Series. Breslow surrendered a hit to the first batter he faced, which plated a run for St. Louis, and walked the next batter to put the tying run on base.  Breslow was then pulled without recording an out, but Junichi Tazawa got Matt Holliday to ground out to end the inning.

After a scoreless top of the eighth, Red Sox manager John Farrell sent scheduled Game 6 starter John Lackey to the mound to bridge the gap to closer Koji Uehara.  After getting Matt Adams to ground out, Lackey got Yadier Molina to hit a grounder to third, but rookie Xander Bogaerts threw wide of the bag and Molina advanced to second on the error.  To make matters worse, Lackey then threw a wild pitch that advanced Molina to third with one out.

However, Lackey settled down and jammed John Jay on a 2-0 count to get him to pop-up to short.  Then he got 2011 World Series MVP David Freese to ground out to Stephen Drew at short to end the inning without any damage.

Boston then went three up and three down in the top of the ninth, so Uehara had to come in to get the save.  Daniel Descalso led off the inning for the Cardinals and grounded out to second, and then Allen Craig came up to pinch-hit for the pitcher’s spot.  Craig hit a line shot into right that one-hopped the wall, but only managed a single due to his foot injury.  Yet, the tying run was now at the plate.

Rookie second baseman Kolten Wong was immediately sent in to pinch-run for the injured Craig.  

Uehara settled down and got leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter to pop out to second, and that would bring Carlos Beltran, one of the greatest postseason hitters of all-time, up to the plate.  But in a shocking turn of events, Uehara took the bat out of Beltran’s hands by picking Wong off at first base to end the game.

Of all the come-from-behind wins the Red Sox had all season, this one took the most guts in my mind.  After taking Game One, Boston literally threw the next two games of the World Series away and was in position to fall behind three games to one.  This win was a result of a complete team effort, but let us give credit where credit is due.

David Ortiz went 3-3 with a walk, scored two runs, and got his teammates going with an emotional speech in the dugout mid-game.  Jonny Gomes never got down on himself, took advantage of his opportunity to play, and fought in his at-bat against Maness until he got a mistake to capitalize on. 

Felix Doubront gave his team solid innings out of the bullpen back-to-back nights without surrendering much damage.  Starting pitcher John Lackey was willing to be available for an appearance out of the bullpen three games away from his scheduled Game 6 starts.  Finally, closer Koji Uehara didn’t panic after surrendering a hard hit, and had the presence of mind to pick off a young but dangerous base-runner.

After such a gutsy win to tie the World Series 2-2, tonight’s Game 5 has the feel of being a must-win.  For the Cardinals, a loss would mean that they would have to win two games in a row on the road in a hostile environment.  If the Red Sox drop Game 5, they also would have to win two in a row, and although they would have home-field advantage, they haven’t beaten the Cardinals twice in a row in this series thus far.  Buckle up folks, and get ready for first pitch in a few hours.