Jonny Gomes was the unlikely hero in Game Four of the World Series. His three-run home run in the sixth gave Boston a 4-1 lead, and they ended up beating the Cardinals 4-2 to tie the series at two games apiece and guarantee that these two teams will return to Fenway Park.
Like Gomes, this whole story was unlikely ever since last winter. Boston lost 93 games in 2012, their first season with 90 losses since 1966. They fired volatile manager Bobby Valentine. They hired former pitching coach John Farrell as their new manager, and a handful of players who had veteran experience and simply loved the game. They played it the right way. During spring this year they wore t-shirts with the word “relentless” on it.
That is what these Red Sox have been. And last night, they needed to be. Imagine a situation where you are 3-1 down and still have to face quality pitching; Adam Wainwright is pitching tonight in Game Five and Michael Wacha is going to pitch back in Boston.
But last night, proceedings went slightly different to what has happened throughout this long season for the Red Sox.
Their leader, David Ortiz, the only man on this team to be a part of the other two championship seasons in Boston over the last nine years, pulled his guys together half way through the ball game.
Mike Napoli said that the Red Sox haven’t held a team meeting all year, but in the dugout in the midst of a crucial Game Four, Ortiz told everybody to calm down.
His reason for doing so? “Just the game,” said Ortiz, who was 3-for-3 and reached base four times. “The game talks, man. I know we have better hitters than what we have shown. I just feel like I saw a lot of faces kind of looking in the wrong direction. Every team has that guy, and I think I’m the guy here.”
He certainly is, and if he inspired anyone, it was Gomes.
The right-hander only found out he was starting the game 90 minutes before the first-pitch; Shane Victorino was scratched due to lower back stiffness, so in came Gomes to leftfield with Daniel Nava switching to right.
There were two outs in the top of the sixth when Gomes crushed a 2-2 sinker into the Red Sox bullpen in leftfield. This moment was classic Gomes, who plays by the mantra that his career is always on thin ice.
“When you talk about a guy like me, pretty much every single at-bat, every pitch I see, my career is on the line,” Gomes said. “If I punch out, it’s ‘See ya, I told you so.’ And every hit, it’s ‘That wasn’t supposed to happen.’”
That kind of attitude has clearly helped Gomes to fight through every at-bat, but in this one he may have wanted to send the Cardinals a little message after their tactics in the sixth.
Knowing that Gomes was on deck, and knowing that he wasn’t supposed to be the hero, St. Louis walked Ortiz on four pitches, and up stepped the man who said he was combing his beard when he found out Victorino was scratched.
He needn’t have bothered with the pre-game grooming because when he came round to home plate, it was ceremoniously tugged on by Napoli, a ritual that has been going on ever since the facial hair of several Red Sox has begun growing at a blistering rate.
It was, however, a tough night for Boston even after the home run. Three pitchers were used from the bullpen before closer Koji Uehara came in to record the final three outs. Felix Doubront, Junichi Tazawa and Game Six starter John Lackey all helped out starter Clay Bucholz, who for most of the game was throwing his fastball in the high-80’s, but managed to keep the Cardinals at bay for four innings.
And just like Game Three, this game ended wildly and unexpectedly. With one on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Cards’ had one of the greatest ever postseason hitters at the plate; Carlos Beltran.
Kolten Wong was the pinch-runner and closer Uehara picked him off at first to end the game.
Farrell said afterward: “We’ve seen it many times. Tonight’s not the first. Granted the stage might be bigger, but this is consistent with the way we’ve responded to a tough night the night before, and we came in today fully expecting a very good game to be put together. That’s just who these guys are, and they’ve shown it many times over.”
Ortiz said after the game that if he feels the need to deliver a mid-game speech again tonight, then he will. Certainly there were no more gleeful faces than those of base-runners Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz as Gomes sent his long ball over the fence.
This is turning into a classic series, as we all hoped and expected. Busch Stadium hosts one more game tonight, and then it’s time to ship back to Boston. I will make only one prediction: Jonny Gomes will be combing his beard tonight, and if he is needed, he’ll be ready.
