ST. LOUIS — Jonny Gomes was guilty as charged of obstruction Sunday.
The Red Sox outfielder took one big swing in the sixth inning and effectively obstructed the Cardinals from running away with this World Series.
There would be zero controversy on this night, only a sigh of relief for the Red Sox that a sense of normalcy had returned with their 4-2 victory in Game 4 of the World Series before 47,469 at Busch Stadium.
Gomes’ three-run homer against Seth Maness helped ensure the Series, now tied at 2-2, will return to Boston on Wednesday. First there is the matter of Monday’s Game 5, with aces Jon Lester and Adam Wainwright set for a rematch from the opener.
A night after Will Middlebrooks was hit with a controversial obstruction call at third base that allowed Allen Craig to score the winning run in the ninth inning, order was restored. And the Red Sox got the big hit for which they had been searching in recent days.
Gomes, a late addition to the lineup after Shane Victorino was scratched because of lower-back tightness, slugged a 2-2 fastball from Maness into the visitors’ bullpen in the sixth and trotted around the bases as if he were auditioning for a spot on “Dancing with the Stars.”
“When they brought Maness in, I’m just a right-handed, hard-swinger guy,” Gomes said. “I don’t think there’s too many matchups to stay away from. If I’m fortunate enough to get a mistake, the bat’s going to come through the zone hot, and it worked out.”
The Cardinals took their best shot at regaining control in the seventh. But after Matt Carpenter delivered an RBI single against Craig Breslow to pull the Cardinals within 4-2, the Red Sox turned to Junichi Tazawa, who retired Matt Holliday with the tying runs on base. After John Lackey pitched a scoreless eighth, Koji Uehara worked the ninth for the save. The right-hander picked off pinch-runner Kolten Wong at first base to end the game, leaving Carlos Beltran at the plate.
“This is consistent with the way we’ve responded to a tough night the night before,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “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.”
David Ortiz continues to soar. The Red Sox slugger finished 3-for-3 with a walk and is 10-for-13 (.769) in the series.
Sloppy defense had contributed to the Red Sox losing the previous two games, but they survived two errors Sunday, one of which led to the Cardinals scoring an unearned run.
Lance Lynn surrendered three earned runs on three hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. With the score 1-1, the right-hander got two quick outs to begin the sixth, but never completed the inning. Dustin Pedroia singled before Ortiz walked on four pitches, and Lynn was removed for Maness, who surrendered the blast to Gomes.
“Seth has been a guy who has been able to help us out and do an incredible job in that situation all season long,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s been able to come in and get the big out when we needed it, and we just wanted to give him a shot. And it just didn’t work out tonight.”
Ortiz’s double leading off the fifth led to the Red Sox tying the game at 1-1, but the damage could have been more severe for the Cardinals. Lynn walked Gomes and Xander Bogaerts to load the bases following Ortiz’s double and Stephen Drew’s sacrifice fly made it 1-1. But Lynn then struck out David Ross and retired pinch-hitter Mike Carp to end the threat.
Clay Buchholz, recently bothered by shoulder tightness, pitched four innings and allowed an unearned run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts before he was removed for the pinch hitter in the fifth. A night earlier, the Red Sox received only four innings from starting pitcher Jake Peavy.
Beltran’s RBI single gave the Cardinals an unearned run against Buchholz in the third. The RBI was Beltran’s 14th this postseason and second in the World Series. Beltran also had an RBI single as part of the Cardinals’ Game 2 victory at Fenway Park.
Carpenter singled to begin the rally and raced to second after Jacoby Ellsbury booted the ball. Beltran followed with the RBI single and Buchholz retired the next two batters to make the run unearned.
Lynn was dominant early, facing the minimum 12 batters through four innings. Ortiz singled off Lynn’s left heel leading off the second, but was erased when Gomes hit into a double play.