St. Louis Cardinals tie series with 4-2 win over Boston Red Sox

The St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of some costly Boston Red Sox errors in the seventh inning to take a 4-2 lead and tie the series at 1-1.

Oct 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) reacts during the fourth inning of game two of the MLB baseball World Series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Image Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Wacha started for the Cards and he pitched with much poise. His only mistake came in the bottom of the 6th inning when David Ortiz launched an 85 mph changeup over the Green Monster for a 2-1 home run. Wacha got out of the 6th inning after allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Carlos Martinez handled the 7th and 8th innings, where he allows one hit and struck out 3 batters. Trevor Rosenthal pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning, all strikeouts, to pick up the first World Series save of his young career.

The Cards first got on the board in the top of the 4th inning when Matt Holliday, following a leadoff triple, scored on a Yadier Molina ground to second base.

Oct 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay (19) celebrates with teammates Matt Carpenter (13) and Pete Kozma (38) after scoring a run as Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Craig Breslow (left) and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (right) look back to the field in the 7th inning during game two of the MLB baseball World Series at Fenway Park. Image Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

In the top of the 7th inning, things got messy pretty quick. David Freese walked. Jon Jay singled. Pete Kozma was announced as a pinch runner for Freese when the Red Sox removed John Lackey from the game. This led to a double steal before Daniel Descalso drew a slider for ball 4. It may have been the biggest pitch of the night.

This led to Matt Carpenter stepping in with bases loaded and still one out. Carpenter flied out to Johnny Gomes in left field. Gomes’ throw to the plate was not in time and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia missed the ball. Kozma scored on the tag. Following the botched throw by pitcher Craig Breslow, Jay advanced from third and Descalso ended up at third.

Carlos Beltran stepped into the plate with two outs. He singled on a 90 mph fastball to right field and added another insurance run with Descalso.

The Cards have started the series 13 times with a 1-1 split, winning 10 World Series trophies. They split the first two games in 2006 and 2011.