2013 World Series
The 2013 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion Boston Red Sox and the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Red Sox won, 4 games to 2 to win their eighth championship. The Red Sox had home field advantage for the series, based on the AL's win in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game on July 16. This was the first World Series since 1999 to feature both number one seeds from the AL and NL. The Series started on October 23, 2013, ending with Game 6 on October 30, 2013.
The Red Sox won the first game at Fenway Park on October 23, followed by the Cardinals winning the second game on October 24 to tie the series, 1–1. The series then moved to Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals won the third game on October 26 to gain a 2–1 lead. The Red Sox won the fourth game on October 27 to tie the series at 2–2, then won the last of three games at Busch Stadium on October 28 for a 3–2 lead. The series then moved back to Fenway Park, where the Red Sox decisively won the final game on October 30, becoming the World Series champions for 2013.
This was the fourth meeting of the Cardinals and the Red Sox in the World Series. It was also the first World Series since to feature two teams with identical regular season records. Winning in six games, the Red Sox clinched their third World Series championship since. David Ortiz was awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He became the first non-Yankee to win three World Series titles with one team since Jim Palmer. This was last time a championship was clinched on a team's home field until .
Background
This was the tenth meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship, which previously happened in three World Series, four NBA Finals, Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and the 1970 Stanley Cup Final.St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals finished the 2013 regular season at 97–65, earning the best record in the National League. They set a new Major League Baseball record for hitting efficiency with runners in scoring position, hitting.330, the best in baseball since the Boston Red Sox hit.312 in 1950, also beating the 2007 Detroit Tigers, and 1996 Colorado Rockies with a.311 average.Despite losing first baseman Albert Pujols to the Angels and manager Tony La Russa to retirement after their 2011 World Series triumph, the Cardinals under new manager Mike Matheny still came within one game of a return trip to the World Series, but lost the final three games to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants in the 2012 National League Championship Series. However, with the help of Matheny and general manager John Mozeliak, the Cardinals were able to stay in contention even with a roster consisting mostly of rookies, free-agent veteran additions, and a few holdovers from the 2011 championship team.
The Cardinals' offense was led by catcher Yadier Molina, second baseman Matt Carpenter, and first baseman Allen Craig, all of whom finished in the top 10 in batting average. They were joined by outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Matt Holliday, third baseman David Freese, and first baseman Matt Adams. The Cardinals' pitching staff were led by Adam Wainwright, who returned to form after posting an NL-leading 19 wins. Wainwright was joined by youngsters Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Shelby Miller, and late-season call-up Michael Wacha. Wainwright's return to form, along with the emergence of the young starters, helped fill the void left by star pitcher Chris Carpenter, who missed the entire season due to various injuries. The bullpen were also powered by youngsters, led by closer Trevor Rosenthal, set-up man Carlos Martínez, and middle relievers Seth Maness and Kevin Siegrist.
The top-seeded Cardinals opened the playoffs by defeating the #4 seed Pittsburgh Pirates in five games in the Division Series. Then, in their third consecutive National League Championship Series appearance, St. Louis defeated the third-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two for their 19th National League pennant.
File:Massachusetts State House Red Sox Banner.JPG|thumb|The Massachusetts State House displaying a banner in honor of the Boston Red Sox's 2013 World Series appearance
Boston Red Sox
After finishing last in the AL East with a 69–93 record in 2012, the Red Sox fired Bobby Valentine and hired John Farrell as their new manager. Under Farrell, the team finished the 2013 regular season at 97–65, the best record in the American League.In the aftermath of the infamous September collapse in 2011 and the ill-fated Valentine experiment of 2012, general manager Ben Cherington brought in Farrell, a former pitching coach under Terry Francona, and several role players in hopes of turning the Red Sox around. The Boston Marathon bombing on April 15 helped inspire a season-long rally for the Red Sox in support of the victims and the city of Boston. In games after the marathon, the Red Sox hung a jersey on the dugout saying Boston Strong and 617, representing the city's area code. The team also wore "B Strong" patches in their uniforms. In addition, some of the Red Sox players grew beards during the season as a sign of unity. The inspired play of the Red Sox took them from last place the previous season to American League East champions with a 28-game turnaround, helped by Farrell's calming presence and familiarity with some of the players.
Boston's offense was powered by designated hitter David Ortiz, who hit.309 during the season. They also relied on the baserunning exploits of center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, whose 52 stolen bases led the major leagues, while right fielder Shane Victorino, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, first baseman Mike Napoli, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and outfielder Jonny Gomes helped the Red Sox to a league-leading 853 runs scored. The pitching staff was led by Jon Lester, who rebounded from a miserable 2012 campaign to post a 15–8 record and 3.75 ERA. Lester was joined by Clay Buchholz, John Lackey and midseason acquisition Jake Peavy. The bullpen were led by closer Koji Uehara, who unexpectedly took over following injuries to Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey to post 21 saves and a 1.09 ERA. He was joined by compatriot and set-up man Junichi Tazawa, and middle relievers Brandon Workman and Craig Breslow. While Stephen Drew and David Ross were limited offensively, their defense proved to be an asset to the team's success, especially during the postseason.
The top-seeded Red Sox opened the playoffs by defeating the fifth-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the Division Series. Then in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox defeated the third-seeded Detroit Tigers in six games to win their 13th American League pennant.
Summary
Matchups
Game 1
Boston Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski threw the ceremonial first pitch, as he had done before Game 1 in 2004 and 2007 while Mary J. Blige sang the national anthem. After Boston starter Jon Lester pitched a scoreless top half of the first inning, St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright found trouble in the bottom of the inning. He walked leadoff batter Jacoby Ellsbury and after an out, Dustin Pedroia singled. Wainwright then got David Ortiz to ground to second base, but Matt Carpenter's flip was mishandled by shortstop Pete Kozma, ending the possibility of a double play. Initially, the Cardinals had been awarded a force-out at second base, but after conferring, the umpires ruled that Kozma never had control of the ball, and Pedroia was reinstated at second base. With the bases loaded and one out, Mike Napoli doubled to left-center, scoring Ellsbury, Pedroia and Ortiz, the latter after Shane Robinson misplayed a carom off the wall. In the bottom of the second inning, Stephen Drew led off with a pop-up in front of the pitcher's mound. Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina both converged, but both let the ball drop for a leadoff single. David Ross then singled to center field, followed by a flyout by Ellsbury. Shane Victorino then hit a ground ball to deep short, but Kozma again mishandled it, his second error of the game, and once again the bases were loaded with one out. Pedroia then singled under the glove of a diving David Freese to make the score 4–0. Ortiz then hit a deep fly to right field, but was robbed of a grand slam by Carlos Beltrán. Ross did tag and score to give Boston a 5–0 lead. Beltrán would leave the game, with Robinson moving to right field, and Jon Jay taking over in center. Meanwhile, Lester was brilliant for the Red Sox, pitching scoreless innings. The Red Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh with Ortiz hitting a two-run home run off Kevin Siegrist to give them a 7–0 lead. After the Red Sox plated another run in the eighth inning, the Cardinals finally got on the board with Matt Holliday leading off the ninth with a home run off Ryan Dempster. Dempster recovered and closed out the 8–1 victory by striking out Matt Adams. Lester was accused of using a foreign substance on his glove, but he claimed that it was just rosin, which is legal, and the Cardinals organization elected to not file a complaint.Game 2
Game 2 pitted the NLCS MVP Michael Wacha against the Red Sox' John Lackey. Several members of the 2004 Red Sox championship team, including Pedro Martínez, threw ceremonial first pitches while Boston native James Taylor sang the national anthem. After three scoreless innings, Matt Holliday led off the fourth inning for the Cardinals with a triple to center field. After Matt Adams lined out, catcher Yadier Molina grounded out softly to Dustin Pedroia to score Holliday and give the Cardinals a 1–0 lead. The Red Sox threatened in the bottom half as the first two batters reached with Pedroia leading off with a double and David Ortiz drawing a walk. Mike Napoli then grounded into a double play to partially kill the threat and Wacha got Jonny Gomes to pop out to Matt Carpenter to end the inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Red Sox finally got on the scoreboard, as Pedroia walked with one out and Ortiz hit a two-run home run to left center field on a 3–2 changeup to give the Red Sox a 2–1 lead. In the seventh inning, the Red Sox' defense let them down. With one out and the bases loaded, Carpenter hit a fly ball to Gomes in left field for the second out. With Pete Kozma, who pinch-ran for Freese, scoring on the throw, the ball got away from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Jay and Descalso attempted to advance on the misplay and pitcher Craig Breslow, who was backing up on the play, tried to get Jay at third but his throw was wild and went into the stands. Jay scored and Descalsco went to third as the Cardinals now led 3–2. Carlos Beltrán then singled to right to score Descalso and give the Cardinals a 4–2 lead. Things got a little interesting in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Carlos Martinez on the mound for the Cardinals, the Red Sox had Jacoby Ellsbury reach on an error and after two strikeouts, Ortiz reached on a single. With two outs, Martinez jammed Napoli and he popped out to short to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth with the 4–2 lead, Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal entered the game and made quick work of the Red Sox by striking out Gomes, Saltalamacchia and pinch-hitter Daniel Nava on 17 pitches. The Cardinals evened up the series at one game each as the series shifted to St. Louis for the next three games.This was the Red Sox first World Series loss since Game 7 in 1986, and St. Louis snapped Boston's nine-game winning streak in the World Series.