B4
2013 WORLD SERIES
THE ITEM
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2013
Cardinals fatigue has set in for some BY JIM SALTER The Associated Press
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, right, is unable to handle the throw as St. Louis pinch runner Pete Kozma scores on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of Thursday’s Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park in Boston. The Cardinals took advantage of two Red Sox errors in the inning en route to a 4-2 victory that evened the series at a game apiece.
Redbirds turn tables, pull even BY RONALD BLUM The Associated Press BOSTON — Michael Wacha and his Cardinals bullpen provided the power pitching. Carlos Beltran, injected with a painkiller, came through with a huge hit. And this time, it was the Red Sox who were tripped up by fielding failures. Wacha bested John Lackey in a matchup of present and past rookie sensations, and St. Louis beat Boston 4-2 Thursday night to even the World Series at a game apiece. “Somebody would have to kill me in order for me WACHA to get out of the lineup,’’ said Beltran, undeterred by bruised ribs that landed him in the hospital a night earlier. Matt Holliday tripled and scored on Yadier Molina’s fourthinning grounder, but David Ortiz put Boston ahead 2-1 in the sixth when he pounced on an 85 mph changeup for a two-run homer just over the Green Monster in left field. That ended Wacha’s scoreless streak at 18 2/3 innings — a rookie record for a single postseason — but it was all he gave up. Selected by St. Louis last year with the first-round draft pick received as compensation when Albert Pujols signed with the Los Angeles Angels, Wacha has been so good lately that a St. Louis restau-
Best-of-7; x-if necessary All games televised by Fox Boston 1, St. Louis 1 Wednesday: Boston 8, St. Louis 1 Thursday: St. Louis 4, Boston 2 Today: Boston (Peavy 12-5) at St. Louis (Kelly 10-5), 8:07 p.m. Sunday: Boston (Buchholz 12-1) at St. Louis (Lynn 15-10), 8:15 p.m. x-Monday: Boston at St. Louis, 8:07 p.m. x-Oct. 30: St. Louis at Boston, 8:07 p.m. x-Oct. 31: St. Louis at Boston, 8:07 p.m.
rant he walked into had named a milkshake after him, the “Wacha Wacha.’’ The 22-year-old right-hander, the NL championship series MVP after beating Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw twice, threw a career-high 114 pitches and allowed two runs, three hits and four walks in six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four outings this postseason, matching the amount of regular-season wins he has in his brief career. “They don’t swing at bad pitches, really,’’ Wacha said. “They did a good job tonight grinding out at-bats with me and got the pitch count up.’’ “He pitched outstanding,’’ Molina said. “Just one pitch, to a great hitter like Big Papi.’’
But then Lackey, who in 2002 with the Angels became the first rookie in 93 years to win a World Series seventh game, faltered in a 3-run seventh. St. Louis went ahead when Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly that led to a pair of runs, with the second scoring on errors by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and reliever Craig Breslow — both making their Series debuts. Beltran, an 8-time All-Star making his first Series appearance at age 36, followed with an RBI single. He had been sent to a hospital for scans Wednesday night after bruising ribs while banging into the right-field fence to rob Ortiz of a grand slam. Beltran appeared to be wearing protective padding under his jersey. “When I left the ballpark yesterday, I had very little hope that I was going to be in the lineup with the way I felt,’’ he said. “When I woke up, I woke up feeling a little better. And I came to the ballpark, talked to the trainer. I was able to get treatment and talk to the doctors, and find a way to try anything I could try just to go out there and feel no pain.’’ He said he took an injection of Toradol to block the pain for five or six hours. “The good thing is tomorrow I have the day off,’’ he said. When the Series resumes today in St. Louis, Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox and Joe Kelly for the Cardinals.
ST. LOUIS — Who wouldn’t love a baseball team from the quaint Heartland, the team that produced gentlemanly Stan Musial and fans so friendly they sometimes cheer opposing players? Apparently, a growing legion. As the World Series moves to St. Louis on Saturday, vast regions of the Midwest and South still love their Cardinals. But nationally, there are signs that Cardinals fatigue has set in. That’s not completely unexpected given the team’s recent omnipresence in the postseason. All the Haterade was probably inevitable with the emergence of snarky websites and social media — though Twitter co-founder and St. Louis native Jack Dorsey surely didn’t envision all the 140-words-or-less nastiness directed at his beloved team. It began in the first round of the playoffs with some national commentators openly rooting for the Pirates to beat St. Louis. It was more about Pittsburgh’s story-
book emergence after a two-decade playoff drought than hate of the Cardinals, but it didn’t go unnoticed in Cardinals country. Then there are the online barbs. In a recent column on the website Deadspin, Drew Magary called St. Louis a “dump’’ and took particular exception to the team’s fervent fan base. “Wanna know who you really are, Cardinals fans?’’ Magary wrote. “You are this. You are poorly disguised Yankees fans in ugly Christmas sweaters carrying a Jell-O mold to your neighbor’s door.’’ When their run of success began in 2000, the Cardinals were the happy story — red-clad fans with high school footballlike enthusiasm for their overachieving Midwestern midmarket team. Since then, the Cardinals have been in 10 of the last 14 postseasons. They’ve played in the National League championship series eight times in the span. This World Series appearance is their fourth since 2004. Some are literally tired of seeing red.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis, the baseball team in the heartland that produced gentlemanly Stan Musial, a team known for fans so friendly they sometimes cheer opposing players, suddenly finds itself under fire from fed-up fans. As the World Series shifts to Busch Stadium, there are growing signs of Cardinals fatigue.
WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK
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Shift to National League city means no World Series DH League game, only because it’s what we’re most accustomed to, but also just the thought process that goes into it,’’ Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “But I do understand, too, the American League side and I think it’s a good mix.’’ There appears to be little chance the DH will spread to both leagues or disappear. DHs averaged $8,099,112 in salary in 2012, according to figures compiled by the players’ association, second only to first basemen at $8.56 million. Players don’t want to give up 15 pricey jobs and MLB has little desire to add 15.
BY RONALD BLUM The Associated Press ST. LOUIS — It’s not just the stadium and uniforms that will change when the World Series shifts to Busch Stadium for Game 3 on Saturday night. With the switch to the National League city, there won’t be a designated hitter. Adopted by the American League for the 1973 season, the DH first appeared in the Series in 1976, and it was used in even-numbered years through 1984. Since 1986, the DH has been in the lineup for games in AL cities. The move to St. Louis means Boston slugger Mike Napoli is on the bench for Game 3 tonight and David Ortiz takes over at first base. “If I were commissioner I’d certainly change it, where we could get Nap in there,’’ said Jake Peavy, Boston’s Game 3 starter. “I think that we certainly have a little bit of a disadvantage, just simply because of the way our roster is constructed as opposed to theirs. They’re a National League ballclub, and they’re going to play with their normal lineup tomorrow night, with the way they were built. Being an American League team we’re going to miss a
RATINGS GAME
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
With the World Series shifting to St. Louis, Boston designated hitter David Ortiz will have to play first base, putting Red Sox slugger Mike Napoli on the bench instead.
huge middle-of-the-lineup bat tomorrow night.’’ AL DHs have a .241 Series average with 15 homers and 56 RBI, according to STATS LLC.
NL DHs hit for a higher average (.248) but with less run production (12 homers, 46 RBI). “I do enjoy the National
The Cardinals’ 4-2 win in Game 2 received an 8.3 rating and 14 share on Fox and was seen by an average of 13.4 million viewers, Nielsen Media Research said Friday. The rating was up 6 percent from a 7.8 1/2 for San Francisco’s 2-0 victory over Detroit in the second game last year, and viewers were up 9 percent from 12.3 million. The two-game average of 8.5/14 is up 10 percent from last year’s 7.7/12 and the 13.9 million viewers are up 13 percent from last season’s 12.3 million. GOLD WATCH
Cardinals Game 1 starter
Adam Wainwright found out he was a finalist for a Gold Glove and couldn’t resist poking fun at himself over the timing of the announcement. Wainwright, who won a Gold Glove in 2009, noted a pitcher who is strong defensively can really help — “If you can catch little popups right to you.’’ After going error-free during the regular season, the 19-game winner hasn’t forgotten what happened in this year’s World Series opener. He called for an easy pop fly and then assumed 5-time Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina would take over, and the ball fell between them for a hit by Stephen Drew that helped Boston to a 2-run second inning and a 5-0 lead. LUCKY FAN
The ball that Shane Victorino hit for a grand slam to help the Boston Red Sox advance to the World Series will be auctioned off next month. Trailing by a run in the seventh inning of Game 6 of the AL championship series against the Detroit Tigers, Boston loaded the bases on a double, a walk and an error. Victorino hit an 0-2 pitch from Tigers pitcher Jose Veras over the Green Monster and the Red Sox went on to win 5-2 to clinch the series.