Well, I was wrong. Boston has been great the last two games, largely due to David Ortiz, and the incredible pitching of Jon Lester. I loathe the Red Sox and the fair weather fandom of Red Sox Nation, but as a baseball fan who watches the pitchers closely, it has been an honor to watch Jon Lester pitch. I thought the Cards had chances against him in Game 1, and just missed them. Yes, they were down by 5 after 2 innings that night, but Lester was missing fastball location repeatedly, which is why he had trouble in the third and fourth innings. That game was much tighter than the 8-1 score shows, because the Cardinals are the kind of team that functions on momentum. Last night was different. Lester is making his case to be a Red Sox legend. He didn't miss at all. The Cardinals still had their chances, but it didn't feel like the same sort of game. He's now 4-0 career in the World Series, having only surrendered 1 run, total.
Cards ace Adam Wainwright, for his part, deserved better. Back-to-back doubles in the first rendered a score of 1-0 for the Sox. But he found a groove, recording his first six outs by strikeout. Ironically, it was the inefficient first, followed by his swing-and-miss dominance following (he struck out 10 Sox) that cost him the game. He didn't have a quick inning. He was up over 100 pitches when he surrendered the winning runs in the 7th. Sandy Koufax and Jim Bunning, two Hall of Fame pitchers, were talking (as relayed by Tim McCarver) about pitching inside. Koufax reportedly said, "Show me a guy who pitches inside, and I'll show you a loser." This seems wrong, because if he doesn't pitch inside, the hitter will lock in on the outside of the plate. McCarver--who, God bless him, is a nut-bar--went on to explain that Koufax said that throwing your "out" pitch for a strike on the inside was doing the batter a favor. As Jacoby Ellsbury hit a broken-bat single into center field for the third Boston run after being jammed on the inside, I thought, "Good point."
The series shifts back to Boston with the Red Sox up 3-2, with a chance to win it all. To do it, they'll have to beat young phenom Michael Wacha, who has surrendered only 3 runs in 27 postseason innings. That's an ERA of 1.00. What's even more absurd is that it went up to that number after he gave up a two-run homer to David Ortiz in Game 2. Aside from the obvious Fozzie Bear jokes, his nickname should be "Video Game." Mark it down: Barring injury, this kid might become the greatest pitcher you'll ever see. My respect and hat's off to the Red Sox if they win.
Cards ace Adam Wainwright, for his part, deserved better. Back-to-back doubles in the first rendered a score of 1-0 for the Sox. But he found a groove, recording his first six outs by strikeout. Ironically, it was the inefficient first, followed by his swing-and-miss dominance following (he struck out 10 Sox) that cost him the game. He didn't have a quick inning. He was up over 100 pitches when he surrendered the winning runs in the 7th. Sandy Koufax and Jim Bunning, two Hall of Fame pitchers, were talking (as relayed by Tim McCarver) about pitching inside. Koufax reportedly said, "Show me a guy who pitches inside, and I'll show you a loser." This seems wrong, because if he doesn't pitch inside, the hitter will lock in on the outside of the plate. McCarver--who, God bless him, is a nut-bar--went on to explain that Koufax said that throwing your "out" pitch for a strike on the inside was doing the batter a favor. As Jacoby Ellsbury hit a broken-bat single into center field for the third Boston run after being jammed on the inside, I thought, "Good point."
The series shifts back to Boston with the Red Sox up 3-2, with a chance to win it all. To do it, they'll have to beat young phenom Michael Wacha, who has surrendered only 3 runs in 27 postseason innings. That's an ERA of 1.00. What's even more absurd is that it went up to that number after he gave up a two-run homer to David Ortiz in Game 2. Aside from the obvious Fozzie Bear jokes, his nickname should be "Video Game." Mark it down: Barring injury, this kid might become the greatest pitcher you'll ever see. My respect and hat's off to the Red Sox if they win.
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