He’s Jonny on the spot
Gomes hits 3-run HR; Uehara picks off Wong for last out
ST. LOUIS — With their pitching staff stretched to the max, the Red Sox’s hitters did their best to bail them out Sunday night.
Late replacement Jonny Gomes cranked a three-run homer in the sixth inning of Game 4 of the World Series, and the Red Sox won, 4-2, to tie the series 2-2. Game 5 is tonight.
For the second straight night, the game ended in bizarre fashion. Former Oriole Koji Uehara picked off pinch runner Kolten Wong with Carlos Beltran batting. Saturday’s game ended with an obstruction call at third base that scored the winning run for the Cardinals.
Gomes, who was 0-for-9 in the first three games of the series, was inserted after right fielder Shane Victorino was scratched because of lower-back stiffness that nagged him during the regular season.
Victorino’s status for Game 5 was uncertain.
Gomes was part of a switch in which Daniel Nava took over for Victorino in right and moved up to second in the batting order.
Gomes took over in left and had the distinction of batting behind hot-hitting David Ortiz.
Until Gomes’ homer, Ortiz had accounted for most of the Red Sox’s offense in this series with two home runs and seven of their first 20 hits.
Cardinals starter Lance Lynn pitched to the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings before Ortiz led off the fifth with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Stephen Drew, who was 4-for-45 before driving in the tying run.
After Dustin Pedroia singled with two outs in the sixth, Lynn was pulled when he walked Ortiz on four pitches.
Seth Maness replaced Lynn, and Gomes took advantage of a high 2-2 pitch by smacking it over the left-field fence to give the Red Sox their first lead since the top of the seventh inning of Game 2.
Despite a noticeable dip in velocity, Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz managed to limit the Cardinals to onerunthroughfourinnings. Buchholz, who has coped with rightshoulder tightness, had his fastball top out in the high 80s but managed to strand runners in scoring position in the second and the fourth.
The Red Sox’s sixth error of the series enabled the Cardinals to take a 1-0 lead in the third. Matt Carpenter singled and advanced to second on a bobble by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, his second miscue in as many games.
Carlos Beltran came through with asingle that gave Lynnmarginal run support that lasted until the fifth.
The Cardinals added a run in the seventh when Shane Robinson doubled ahead of Carpenter’s RBI single.
Slugger Allen Craig, who reinjured his left ankle on the final play of Game 3, delivered a pinch single in the bottom of the ninth, and Wong entered the game.