BOSTON — In his first three starts, Michael Wacha set the bar impossibly high for any pitcher — never mind a neophyte performing in October for the first time.
So when Wacha gave up two runs, two hits and walked four in six innings Thursday night in Game 2 of the Cardinals-Red Sox World Series at Fenway Park, there were questions about his location and stuff not being as crisp.
“I think it’s a sign of how good the other starts were,’’ Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of the 22-year-old right-hander, who posted the 4-2 victory that tied the best-of-seven Series at 1-1. “The kid gave up three hits, one of them a bloop. He gave up a couple of walks and just happened to give up the big hit. But I think it appeared that way because he has been so sharp in the other [starts]. But overall, you can’t ask for much more from that kid or anybody else.’’
The big hit Matheny referenced was David Ortiz’s two-run, opposite-field homer in the sixth that erased a 1-0 Cardinals lead.
“A good hitter like Ortiz, I made a mistake, a 3-2 change-up up in the zone and he made me pay,’’ Wacha said of the blast that crawled into the first row of seats. “I was pretty mad coming in.’’
Wacha disagreed with Matheny when it came to assessing his performance.
“I didn’t have my best stuff tonight, definitely a little bit more wild,” said Wacha, who had walked four in 21 postseason innings before Thursday night. “I didn’t have the command and I tried to let my defense be behind me and pitch to contact. They made some great plays.’’
Nevertheless, John Farrell’s first look at Wacha left him impressed.
“We had a big opportunity in the fourth. Probably the pitch of the night was the ground ball to [Mike] Napoli,’’ the Red Sox manager said of the pitch Napoli grounded into a double play with runners on first and second and nobody out. “I thought he threw the ball into our guys effectively. He started flipping a curveball for a different look. He was impressive.’’
Nobody was going to keep up the pace Wacha set in the his first three October games, but even without his premier stuff, he was effective.
“They battled me all night,’’ Wacha said. “They weren’t swinging down in the zone that I usually get swings at.’’