BOSTON -- After a 36-year break, the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox played another dramatic game.
The Cardinals won 9-7 Tuesday night at Fenway Park after blowing a five-run lead, then making manager Tony La Russa's decision to walk the bases loaded a success.
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| Byung-Hyun Kim was tired in his Fenway debut.(AP) |
The last time the Cardinals played in Boston was in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series. Bob Gibson pitched a three-hitter and homered as St. Louis won 7-2.
That was the score Tuesday night until Boston tied the game with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth on Jason Varitek's ninth homer.
St. Louis won it with two runs in the ninth off Brandon Lyon (2-3) on doubles by Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen and an RBI single by Eduardo Perez.
But first the Cardinals had to stop Boston's comeback.
"It's always like that at Fenway, even when I was with Seattle," said Tino Martinez, who spent six seasons with the New York Yankees before joining St. Louis last year. "They always come back."
The Red Sox led 2-0 after the first before a three-run homer by J.D. Drew in the fifth and a two-run shot by Albert Pujols in the seventh helped the Cardinals go ahead 7-2.
But it was 7-7 after Varitek's homer off Kiko Calero. Kline (3-4) came in and got the second out before Todd Walker doubled.
Then La Russa went to the mound before Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez, who were a combined 5-for-8 to that point, came to the plate. He told Kline not to give Garciaparra anything good to hit and then walk Ramirez intentionally, even if that loaded the bases, and pitch to David Ortiz.
"Manny Ramirez is as good a hitter as there is in the major leagues," La Russa said. "I don't even think it was that tough a move. I think what was tough was for Kline to get Ortiz out."
Ortiz already was 3-for-4, but Kline had the advantage of a lefty-against-lefty matchup.
"Everyone knows what a great hitter Manny is and how much damage he can do," Ortiz said.
Kline threw only sliders and got Ortiz on a broken-bat fly to medium right field, ending the eighth with the game still tied.
"If his bat doesn't break, he might hit that out of the stadium," Kline said.
The Red Sox have nine wins in their last at-bat, but Cal Eldred got his eighth save in 10 chances when he struck out two and allowed a single in the ninth.
"It is deflating, but it is admirable that we continue to just keep coming back," Boston manager Grady Little said.
Woody Williams, bidding to become the NL's first nine-game winner, left with two outs in the seventh after Boston cut the lead to 7-5 on a double by Walker, a triple by Garciaparra and a two-run homer by Ramirez, his 13th.
Williams entered with a major league-best 1.99 ERA and left with a 2.33 ERA after allowing five runs in 6 2/3 innings. He fell behind 2-0 in the first on RBI doubles by Ramirez and Ortiz.
St. Louis made it 4-2 in the fifth against Byung-Hyun Kim, making his first appearance at Fenway Park since he was traded by Arizona for third baseman Shea Hillenbrand on May 28.
"I didn't feel strong," said Kim, who relieved Saturday against Milwaukee, but "I don't think that's why I felt kind of weak."
In the fifth, Edgar Renteria doubled and went to third on a flyball. With two outs, he scored on Orlando Palmeiro's single. Miguel Cairo then singled and Drew hit his seventh homer.
The Cardinals added three runs in the seventh. Pujols hit a two-run homer, his 17th. Then left fielder Ramirez dropped Edmonds' routine fly for a two-base error and Renteria singled, making it 7-2.
Notes
- The only other times the teams faced each other were in the 1946 World Series, also won by the Cardinals in seven games. The last two games that year were in St. Louis.
- With 14 hits, Boston has at least 10 in 38 of its 62 games.
- Pujols extended his hitting streak to 11 games, while Ramirez's reached nine.
- The Cardinals activated RHP Jason Isringhausen and C Joe Girardi from the disabled list. They sent OF So Taguchi to Triple-A Memphis and placed C Chris Widger on the 15-day disabled list.
- Martinez left with a mild strain of the right hamstring after he pulled up while running out his double-play grounder in the seventh. He is day-to-day.
AP NEWS
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