BOSTON — The Red Sox own what their fans rent.
Late Wednesday night landlord and tenant hope to be drinking the Charles River dry in celebration of the Red Sox winning the World Series for the third time in a decade.
Not since 1918 have the Red Sox clinched a World Series title in this city that spent Tuesday ordaining the locals world champions before John Lackey throws the first pitch of Game 6 Wednesday night at what will be an electric but chilly Fenway Park.
“It’s very exciting, one game away from winning the World Series,’’ the smoking hot David Ortiz said following a workout early Tuesday evening. “It gets no better.’’
Standing in the Red Sox’s way will be Michael Wacha, the Cardinals’ 22-year-old stud right-hander, who will work Game 6 attempting to get the NL champs to a deciding Game 7 Thursday night.
That’s a big chore for a veteran pitcher, never mind one who has made nine big league regular-season starts and four in the postseason where he is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA.
Yet, Wacha didn’t seem overwhelmed by the assignment.
“We know the next two games are must wins,’’ Wacha said. “It all starts with me [Wednesday] night.’’
Through five games the 109th World Series has been a gem despite sloppy fielding (11 combined errors), bizarre endings and dead bats in both dugouts with the exception being Ortiz’s wood.
If the Cardinals don’t find a way to get Ortiz out or opt to walk him every time he bats, New England’s living room will look like Animal House.
Many believe the Cardinals have been foolish not to issue four balls intentionally to Ortiz and move on.
“I’m not the only one hitting. I got one RBI and we won 3-1 [Monday] night so we have a lot of guys coming through and that’s all that matters,’’ said Ortiz, who is batting an unheard of .733 (11-for-15) with two homers, six RBIs and 1.017 OPS. “I know I’ve been hitting well but it’s not like they’ve been, ‘Here, Papi, hit it.’ They’ve been pitching me careful and I’ve just been able to put a good swing on the ball and come through. But we have plenty of hitters in this lineup capable to do some damage and come through.”
Wacha fought his way through six innings in a Game 2 victory that tied the Series, 1-1, but issued four walks and three hits.
Ortiz went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run, opposite-field homer over the Green Monster against Wacha.
Lackey gave up three runs, five hits and two walks in 6 ¹/₃ innings of Game 2 and was tagged with the loss. He worked a scoreless frame of relief in Game 4.
Ortiz wasn’t aware of Red Sox fans reaction in 1918, but he is looking forward to celebrating with them Wednesday night.
“I don’t know what happened in 1918 but [Wednesday] we’re going to expect to make it happen and make people proud and happy in Boston and New England,’’ said Ortiz, who will be back at the designated hitter spot after playing three straight games at first base in St. Louis.
Ortiz was being kind to his teammates because after him rookie Xander Bogaerts (.294) and Dustin Pedroia (.263) are the only two Red Sox hitting above .260. As a team the Red Sox are batting .205 which is 13 points lower than the Cardinals.
“If you know of something, I am all ears,’’ Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said when asked if there was a better way to work Ortiz. “So far we have been trying to pitch him differently.’’
Four intentional balls might be the only way to ensure Ortiz doesn’t touch off what is expected to be a wild celebration.