ST. LOUIS - Jon Lester pitched the Boston Red Sox within a whisker of yet another World Series championship.
Lester bested Adam Wainwright once again, catcher David Ross hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and the Red Sox downed the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Monday night to take a 3-2 Series edge.
David Ortiz delivered his latest big hit, too, sending this bearded band of Red Sox back to Fenway Park with a chance to clinch their third title in a decade. Not since 1918 hasBoston won the title at its own ballpark.
“The fact is we’re going home,” Manager John Farrell said. “Going back to a place that our guys love to play in, in front of our fans.”
“This atmosphere here, these three games, has been phenomenal. We know it’sgoing to be equal to that, if not better. And we’re excited about going home in the position we are.”
John Lackey gets the first chance to win it Wednesday night against St. Louis rookie sensation Michael Wacha. A Cardinals victory would set up a Game 7 on Halloween night.
Ortiz moved from cleanup to the third spot for Game 5 and kept on hitting. He is 11 for 15 (.733) in this Series with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 4 walks. He left after legging out a hit, and Farrell said the slugger is OK.
Lester enhanced his reputation as an October ace.He allowed 1 run and 4 hits in 7 2-3 innings, striking out 7 without a walk. Nearly the same line he had in beating Wainwright in the opener.
“Early on, we just went back to our game plan from Game 1 and just fell back on that and really just tried to make them swing the bats early, and we were able to do that,” Lester said.
Lester (3-0 in three World Series starts) survived a shaky fourth inning when Matt Holliday hit a home run, Carlos Beltran flied out to the wall and Yadier Molina lined up.
“He’s just a stud,” said Ross, the backup catcher who gets paired with Lester. “We rely on him. That’s why he’s the ace of our staff, because he goes out and pitches like that.”
Koji Uehara got four outs for his second save in the series. No crazy endings needed this time, either, following one night with an obstruction call and the next with Uehara’s game-finishing pickoff.
The Cardinals need two victories in Boston. They overcame a 3-2 deficit at home to beat Texas for the 2011 title.
“The guys know what we have to do,” Manager Mike Matheny said. “We have to play the game. They have to lock arms, trust each other and play the game the right way. Most of it is going to be the mentality of not buying into any kind of stats, any kind of predictions, any kind of odds. And go out and play the game.”
Ortiz put Boston ahead with an RBI double in the first, hitting the first pitch after Dustin Pedroia doubled on an 0-2 curve. Ortiz singled the next time up and tied the Series record by reaching base in nine consecutive plate appearances.
Ortiz and the Red Sox took two of three at the NL park despite playing without a designated hitter. Ortiz became the first baseman, putting slugger Mike Napoli on the bench.
The Red Sox are hitting .205 as a team, with Ortiz accounting for 11 of their 33 hits..
Ross broke a 1-1 tie when he hooked a drive just inside the left-field line, and the ball bounced into the seats for a go-ahead double.
“How about that? It’s nice to drive in runs,” Ross said. “I’ve got to credit the guys in front of me.”
Jacoby Ellsbury later hit an RBI single, and Ross was thrown out at the plate trying to score on the play.
The St. Louis hitters went quietly, a couple slinging their bats after routine popups and fly balls and others questioning the calls by plate umpire Bill Miller.
Holliday shook St. Louis’ slumber and broke Lester’s string with his second home run of the Series. Lester had pitched 16 1-3 scoreless innings in his first three World Series starts before Holliday tagged him.
That was all St. Louis got. Not even a revamped lineup that included a hobbled Allen Craig helped the Cards.
Wainwright changed things the next time Ortiz came up, varying his tempo and delivery. Ortiz still hit it hard while lining out to center.
Wainwright struck out 10 in seven innings, becoming the first Cardinals pitcher to reach 10 or more in the Series since Bob Gibson did it twice in 1968 against Detroit.
It was a big sports night in St. Louis, with an NFL game between the Rams and Seattle eight blocks away at the Edward Jones Dome. But baseball ruled the day: Football tickets sold for $10 on StubHub as kickoff approached, and fans inside the dome loudly booed when the World Series game was taken off the video board.
World Series glance WEDNESDAY’S GAME Boston 8, St. Louis 1 THURSDAY’S GAME St. Louis 4, Boston 2 SATURDAY’S GAME St. Louis 5, Boston 4 SUNDAY’S GAME Boston 4, at St. Louis 2 MONDAY’S GAME Boston 3. St. Louis 1,
Boston leads series 3-2 WEDNESDAY’S GAME All times Central St. Louis (Wacha 4-1) at Boston (Lackey 10-13), 7:07 p.m.
THURSDAY’S GAME x-St. Louis at Boston, 7:07 p.m.
x-if necessary
Sports, Pages 17 on 10/29/2013