The Red Sox couldn’t have asked for a better start to the World Series.
Jon Lester tossed an absolute gem, throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings and striking out eight on the night. The left-hander’s gem was rewarded by the Fenway Faithful, who gave him the much-deserved standing ovation as he made his way into the dugout. Junichi Tazawa and Ryan Dempster combined to finish out the game, securing Boston’s win.
On the offensive side, the Red Sox capitalized on the Cardinals’ defensive lapses and got on the board early. After Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the first with a walk, Dustin Pedroia followed up with a single into center field. David Ortiz then hit what looked to be a sure-thing double play, but Pete Kozma couldn’t handle the toss at second, and after the umpires met to reverse the call on Kozma’s transfer fumble, the stage was set for Mike Napoli.
Napoli took advantage of the situation, launching a three-run double into left-center field. Pedroia and Ortiz recorded RBIs in the fifth inning, and Big Papi — after being robbed by Carlos Beltran who made a remarkable catch — extended the Sox’ lead with a two-run blast in the seventh. Xander Bogaerts got in on the fun in the eighth inning, getting his first RBI of the postseason with a sacrifice fly.
With the 8-1 win, Boston takes the 1-0 lead in the series and will host St. Louis once again at Fenway Park on Thursday night at 8:07 p.m. EST.
