Baseball fans, it’s that time of year again: The World Series! This year’s edition of the Fall Classic features two of the best teams in baseball history, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. The best-of-seven series is currently tied at one game apiece heading over to St. Louis for the next 3 scheduled games. So far it’s been a whirl of a Series with some serious ace pitching and clutch hitting—expect it to only get better has we approach game 7.
Here’s a quick recap on the series so far: In game 1, the Sox totally blew out the Cardinals 8-1. However, the Cards came back in game 2, eking out a 4-2 come-from-behind victory thanks to the phenomenal pitching of hard throwing, re-surging sensation Carlos Martinez.
Taking over in the seventh inning, with the Cards leading 4-2, Martinez had an efficient 10-pitch inning, striking out one and getting the other two on groundouts. In eighth inning, however, things got a little messy. To start off, Red Sox centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on error by Cards second baseman Matt Carpenter. Martinez kept his cool though, striking out the next two batters, including Dustin Pedroia. Only then David Ortiz (aka ‘Big Poppy’) came up. Ortiz was on a roll having homered back in the sixth and in game 1, so pitching him carefully was key. Though Ortiz did not homer this time, he did get a single, to bring up the go-ahead run in first baseman Mike Napoli. Four fastballs later, Napoli popped out and the inning and effectively the game was over, tying up the Series.
Scheduled starters for game 3 are Jake Peavy (ERA 4.04) for the Red Sox and Joe Kelly (ERA 2.69) for the Cards. This should be a great matchup, moving into a somewhat more hitter-friendly ballpark than Fenway Park. This one could be a pitcher’s duel if both starters are on their game—keep in mind that the Sox have not played a single game in the new Busch stadium, so Kelly may have an advantage if he can keep the big bats quiet for the first couple of innings.
Expect the Sox to come out hungry in this one, with a slight lineup change given the fact that there is no designated hitter in the NL. To keep Ortiz’s fiery hot bat in the lineup, Sox skipper John Farrell will likely bench underperforming regular first baseman Mike Napoli and play Ortiz over at first. Though it has not been confirmed that Ortiz will start each of the next three games, it would certainly be logical, particularly if the Sox want to head home with the Series lead.
As far as predictions go, this one could really go either way. The Red Sox were not even supposed to make playoffs this season, much less the World Series. Yet their strategy of seeing multiple pitchers per at bat and quality pitching from their starters has boosted them up and over many good teams. As for the Cards, they’ve gone 5-1 at home throughout the post-season, riding some excellent starts from all of their starting pitching as well as their relievers. They will need to swing the bats a bit more to get past Sox power pitchers Lester, Lackey, Peavy and Buchholz but if they can manage that, they could just as easily win the series. This should be an exciting series, so try to watch the next couple of games! Well, Enjoy the rest of the Fall Classic friends! It’s going to be a great one.
The verdict: Sox in 7.
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