BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
 2013 WORLD SERIES,
 GAME #6
The Red Sox are
the World Champions

October 30, 2013 ... These Red Sox, the motley crew that left Fort Myers begging, "Please don't hate us," completed the ultimate redemption song, thrashing the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1, in the sixth and final game of the 2013 World Series. Members of the Brotherhood of the Beard are world champions for the third time this century, worthy progeny of the 20th century Sox, who won five of the first 15 Series back in the days when Babe Ruth was a fuzzy-faced lefthanded orphan from Baltimore.

John Lackey was the poster boy of the 2011 chicken-and-beer chokers, and he completed his comeback ballad, hurling 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball and becoming the first man in baseball history to win World Series-clinching games for two franchises (Lackey won Game 7 for the Angels over the Giants when he was a 24-year-old rookie in 2002). The Boston pariah of 2011 became the hero of 2013.

The finale was the first World Series Game 6 at Fenway since the Carlton Fisk Home Run Game of 1975, and it was a worthy successor. Luis Tiant, the '75 Game 6 starter, tossed the ceremonial first pitch to old batterymate Fisk, and Sox heartbeat Dustin Pedroia completed the metaphor when he hit a towering foul fly that narrowly missed the left-field pole in the bottom of the first.

Both teams squandered scoring opportunities in the first two innings. It looked like it might be a true contest, but the Sox removed all doubt with a three-run third off St. Louis rocket boy Michael Wacha.   Jacoby Ellsbury led with a single to right. After Pedroia went out on a grounder to third, Wacha intentionally walked World Series MVP David Ortiz (.688).  Mike Napoli struck out and then Jonny Gomes was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Enter Shane Victorino.   Victorino turned on a 2-1 pitch and drove it toward the Monster Seats. The ball hit the Covidien sign on wall, good for three runs and a World Series ring. Victorino was credited with a three-run double. The ballgame was over.

The Sox added three more runs and chased Wacha in the fourth. Much-maligned Stephen Drew led off with a homer into the Red Sox bullpen (gloved by Franklin Morales). Wacha surrendered a double to Ellsbury. The young righthander (MVP of the NLCS) was lifted after intentionally walking Ortiz. Napoli made it 5-0 with a single to center off Lance Lynn. After a walk to Gomes, Victorino struck again with a single to left and it was 6-0.

There was good drama for the Sox in the seventh. With two out and nobody aboard, the Cardinals rallied with a single, a double, and Carlos Beltran's RBI single. Farrell came out to get Lackey, but was rebuffed.   "This is my game!" Lackey shouted to his manager. Farrell relented. But when Lackey walked Matt Holliday to load the bases, the manager reemerged from the dugout and pulled his starter. When Lackey walked off the mound, he tipped his cap to the masses who'd rightfully crushed him over the past two years. Junichi Tazawa retired Allen Craig on a harmless grounder and it was on to the seventh-inning stretch.

It was a mere formality in the last two innings. Indomitable Sox closer Koji Uehara came out for the ninth and retired the side in order, sealing the championship by striking out Matt Carpenter (swinging) at 11:23 p.m.

Fifteen minutes after the final out, Red Sox owner John Henry hoisted the World Series championship trophy ("The World Series Cup," according to Menino) and addressed the crowd as fireworks smoke enveloped the infield. Henry spoke. Tom Werner spoke. Cherington spoke. And then Farrell took center stage for his bow.

It was the first time the Sox won the World Series on the Fenway lawn since Carl Mays beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 on Sept. 11, 1918. Ninety-five years later, the Sox won it again on their home field.  And the party lingered long into the night.

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