ST. LOUIS - From the Green Monster to the Gateway Arch. From the Charles River to the mighty Mississippi. From clam chowder to toasted ravioli.
The World Series scene is shifting, and St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright couldn’t be happier.
“We love Cardinal country,” he said Friday.
For good reason, too. After Boston split the first two games at Fenway Park, now Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and the rest of the Red Sox will get to see what makes this place so special.
Especially in October.
“We love playing here at Busch Stadium,” pitcher Joe Kelly said. “Like I said, it’s a sea of red.”
The free-spirited Kelly is set to start Game 3 tonight against Jake Peavy.
“This is what I’ve lived for my whole life, my whole baseball career, I should say,” Peavy said. “I’m as prepared as I’ll ever be physically, mentally.”
Also warmed up is a team of eight Clydesdales, ready to pull a red beer wagon around the warning track before the first pitch. It’s also a tradition for fans to gather early at the Musial statue.
Red Sox closer Koji Uehara took a moment to soak it all in. As he walked onto the field for a workout, the first-time visitor looked at the gleaming Arch hovering high beyond the center-field fence.
The Cardinals rely on a lot more than pomp when they play in their own park. They led the National League in scoring while going 54-27 at Busch, and then let pitching take over in the postseason. St. Louis is 5-1 at home in the playoffs, and in those five victories opponents scored a total of five runs.
Boston has hit just .188 so far in the World Series, with David Ortiz providing the biggest bop. He has homered in both games and is 4 for 6 overall with 5 RBI.
Ortiz will switch to first base with no designated hitter used in World Series games played in National League parks. Manager John Farrell wouldn’t say whether Ortiz would start there for every game in St. Louis, but it’s a good guess regular first baseman Mike Napoli will be on the bench for a while.
Farrell also said left-handed batter Daniel Nava would start in left field instead of Jonny Gomes, who is 0 for 7 so far.
“Obviously David’s bat, at all costs, needs to be in the lineup,” Peavy said. “David is a game-changer. He’s as clutch as anybody I can remember playing with or against.
“It just seems like he has a flair for the dramatic. When the situation is the biggest, he’s at his best.”
Ortiz hit a two-run home run off rookie sensation Michael Wacha in Game 2 that put Boston ahead 2-1 in the sixth inning, but St. Louis rallied in the seventh for a 4-2 victory.
The Red Sox will spend this weekend at the stadium a few blocks from the Mississippi River.
“I believe our ballpark is very fair. I don’t think there’s one thing that would make our team any more effective in this park than any other,” Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny said. “It’s not like there’s the oddities, like a Green Monster or deep corners and gaps.”
“You can’t help but buy into the atmosphere, especially when you’re at home and every single thing you do gets such a positive response.”
Kelly is glad to be home, all the way around.
“You get to sleep in your own bed. You get to do what you normally do on a regular basis,” he said. “If you get coffee in the morning, you go to your coffee shop. It’s just a comfort level to know that it’s your home away from your off season home.”
For the Red Sox, this is their first visit to St. Louis since Ortiz hit a home run June 8, 2005, in a victory at old Busch Stadium. The new park opened the next year.
Kelly also had some friendly advice for Boston’s first-time visitors. It involved a local favorite, a food that many are certain started in this city.
“Find some toasted raviolis, eat some,” he said. “Those are good, especially in St. Louis.”
World Series glance
WEDNESDAY’S GAME Boston 8, St. Louis 1
THURSDAY’S GAME St. Louis 4, Boston 2,
Series tied 1-1
TODAY’S GAME All times Central Boston (Peavy 12-5) at St. Louis (Kelly 10-5), 7:07 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAME Boston (Buchholz 12-1) at St. Louis (Lynn 15-10), 7:15 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME Boston at St. Louis, 7:07 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME x-St. Louis at Boston, 7:07 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 31 x-St. Louis at Boston, 7:07 p.m.
x-if necessary All games televised by Fox
Sports, Pages 19 on 10/26/2013