| Judith A. Culp. 8th June, 2005 - 2:49 pm
 Up until last night, Boston?s return to Busch Stadium had been pretty civil. After last night?s ejections, tonight?s game should be fun to watch. It was pretty obvious that the Red Sox did not care for being on the other side of a drubbing that eventually ended in a 9-2 Cardinal victory.
St. Louis made it clear that last year?s World Series sweep was old news and that this team has no intention of being steamrolled again. However, Boston decided to get ugly and started aiming at Cardinals. John Halama hit Larry Walker in the bottom of the sixth. So, Al Reyes hit Jason Varitek in the top of the seventh. Warnings were issued to both teams, but to no avail ? Matt Mantei nailed Mark Grudzielanek, who thought about charging the mound but did not. Mantei, a hard-thrower, almost hit Reggie Sanders before drilling Larry Walker. Exit Mantei and manager, Terry Francona.
Al Reyes hit pinch-hitter, Kevin Youkilis and it was goodbye to Al and Tony LaRussa. It was a tense exchange in what had started off as an amiable series.
Much had been made of Edgar Renteria?s return, but this series was not expected to highlight any rivalry. But it is clear that one has developed. Certainly, the Redbirds feel vindicated: Renteria has made several errors and is slumping at the plate while David Eckstein is making spectacular plays on both sides of the ball. While these past two games do not compare to winning in October, dominant victories over the Red Sox have to make the Cardinals believe that they are a better team than the one that got swept in the Series. |
