Morning Sports World Series Scene Shifts, Cards Right At Home by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 26 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Koji Uehara emerged from the dugout, walked onto the field at Busch Stadium and gazed at the gleaming Gateway Arch. The World Series scene shifted Friday. And far from the Green Monster and Fenway Park, the Boston closer and many of his Red Sox teammates were eager to look around. Ive only been in St. Louis since I got off the bus, so I havent got much to say, outfielder Daniel Nava said. But Ive heard a lot about it. Ive heard the fans are amazing. Ive heard the fans are truly knowledgeable. The stadiums unreal. Its beautiful. Theyve done a great job of just constructing it and making it fan friendly and hopefully player friendly. From the Charles River to the mighty Mississippi, from clam chowder to toasted ravioli, St. Louis was now home with the Series tied at 1-all. We love Cardinal country, ace Adam Wainwright said. For good reason, too. After a split in Boston, Dustin Pedroia and the rest of the Red Sox will get to see what makes this place so special. Especially in October. Well, we love playing here at Busch Stadium. Like I said, its a sea of red, pitcher Joe Kelly said. The free-spirited Kelly was set to start Game 3 on Saturday night against Jake Peavy. This is what Ive lived for my whole life — my whole baseball career, I should say, Peavy said. Im as prepared as Ill ever be — physically, mentally. Also warmed up: A team of eight Clydesdales, ready to pull a red beer wagon around the warning track before the first pitch. Its also a tradition for fans to gather early at the Musial statue — there are two honoring Stan the Man outside the stadium, actually. The Cardinals rely on a lot more than pomp when they play in their own park. They led the NL 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; in those five wins, opponents scored a total of five runs. Boston has hit just .188 so far in the Series, with David Ortiz providing the biggest bop. Hes homered in both games and is 4 for 6 overall with five RBIs. With no designated hitter in the National League park, Ortiz will switch to first base. Manager John Farrell wouldnt say whether Ortiz would start there for every game in St. Louis, but its a good guess regular first baseman Mike Napoli will be on the bench for a while. Obviously Davids bat, at all costs, needs to be in the lineup, Peavy said. David is a game-changer. Hes 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, hes at his best. Ortiz hit a two-run homer 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 win. Farrell also said the lefty-swinging Nava would start in left field instead of Jonny Gomes, who is 0 for 7 so far. While Nava was new in town, a lot of local sports fans got to see him. A clip of Nava striking out against fireballing rookie Trevor Rosenthal to end Game 2 was played on the video board at the St. Louis Blues hockey game Friday night. The NHL crowd cheered the highlight, and got even louder when Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay were shown sitting in the seats. The Red Sox will spend this weekend at the park a few blocks from the Mississippi River. The Arch is clearly in view, hovering high in the distance beyond the center-field wall I believe our ballpark is very fair. I dont think theres one thing that would make our team any more effective in this park than any other, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. Its not like theres the oddities, like a Green Monster or deep corners and gaps. But you cant help but buy into the atmosphere, especially when youre 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. Its just a comfort level to know that its your home away from your offseason home. For the Red Sox, this is their first visit to St. Louis since Ortiz hit a home run on June 8, 2005, in a win at the previous Busch Stadium. The new park opened the next year. Kelly also had some friendly advice for Bostons first-time visitors. It involved a local favorite, a food that many are certain started in this city. Find some toasted raviolis, eat some. Those are good, especially in St. Louis, he said.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:10:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015