BOSTON — According to Red Sox manager John Farrell, the tightness in Clay Buchholz’s right shoulder that surfaced following the ALCS won’t keep him from starting Game 4 Sunday against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
“Everything he’s going through right now is indicating that he will start on Sunday,’’ Farrell said before the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory in Game 2 Thursday that evened the World Series 1-1. “There has been nothing that has happened [since Wednesday] here or with Clay that would indicate otherwise. We fully expect him to go.’’
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Is there any way Farrell can squeeze Mike Napoli and David Ortiz into the lineup when the Series moves to St. Louis, where the DH will be shelved for Games 3, 4 and 5 starting Saturday?
“No,” Farrell said. “The one outside view might be to put Napoli behind the plate, but we wouldn’t do that. One or the other is going to sit, unfortunately.’’
Ortiz will play first base for the Red Sox in Game 3.
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The Cardinals received their first bit of good World Series news Thursday night when it was decided Carlos Beltran’s right ribs would not keep him out of the lineup for Game 2.
Beltran left Game 1 after two innings due to a right rib contusion suffered when he reached over the right-field fence to rob Ortiz of a grand slam in the second inning of Boston’s 8-1 romp.
X-rays and a CT-scan were negative, but Beltran had to convince the Cardinals’ medical staff he was OK, and then had to get through a batting-cage session. After that, manager Mike Matheny inserted the switch-hitting right fielder into the No. 2 spot, where he batted in Game 1.
Beltran went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
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Because Farrell was a pitcher and Matheny a catcher, they both were asked about former catchers getting more managing gigs than pitchers.
“I think the obvious answer would be there is so much responsibility that is given to a catcher during the game,’’ Matheny said. “I think it’s part of the natural process of thinking. But obviously there is a pitcher over here who is doing a great job as a manager.’’
Farrell said it’s up to the former pitchers to get into other aspects of the game.
“I think as a pitcher, if you have a true desire to learn … and you want to lead people and work toward combining efforts to achieve a goal, I don’t know why the stigma is there for former pitchers as managers,’’ he said.
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Dustin Pedroia injected some humor into the pregame press conference by admitting he didn’t know the meaning of “validity,” regarding the accusations Jon Lester used an illegal substance in Game 1.
“I don’t know what that word is, man,’’ Pedroia said. “Arizona State education, bro. You’ll have to break that one down for me.’’ …
Boston’s nine-game World Series winning streak was snapped. They had been tied with the Reds for the fourth-longest streak in World Series history.
The Yankees have the top three longest World Series winning streaks. From 1996-2000, the Yankees won 14 straight. They won 12 in a row from 1927 to 1932 and 10 straight from 1937 to 1941.
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The Red Sox in the World Series is good for TV ratings. Game 1 drew an 8.6 national rating and 14.4 million viewers. That rating was up 13 percent from last year’s Game 1 between the Giants and Tigers, which drew a 7.6, a record low for a Game 1.
The 14.4 million viewers are up 18 percent from 12.2 million in 2012.
The peak of Wednesday’s game peaked at 16.9 million during the second inning, when the Red Sox took a 5-0 lead.