As the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox make their final preparations before Game 1 of the 2013 World Series, baseball fans around the globe will certainly be excited to watch the two best teams in the league close out the season in what should be an extremely competitive and entertaining best-of-seven series. The Red Sox took care of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series, closing out the defending American League champions in six games. While Beantown was busy advancing to their first World Series championship since 2007 - just a year removed from a last place finish in the American League East division - St. Louis needed six games to upend the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, setting up a Fall Classic that will display some of the best pitching in the game.
Boston and St. Louis are playing for their third championships since 2004 and with the 109th World Series setting up as a rematch of the 2007 Championship round, supporters of each organization hope their squads are able to solidify themselves as 2013 Champion. The Sox took the 2004 World Series from the Cards - the club's first championships since 1918 - and as they look for a repeat performance this time around, Boston hopes ace Jon Lester will be able to keep the St. Louis bats at bay when he takes the mound against St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright in Game 1 at Boston's Fenway Park.
"Obviously tomorrow there will still be nerves, there will still be all that to be expected," Lester said. "But I think I know who I am a little bit more as a pitcher and what to expect from myself, and what to expect from the crowd and all the different things that go along with getting a start in the World Series."
Boston won a total of 97 games this season and won the American League East. In similar fashion, St. Louis claimed 96 victories and a National League Central title. With the two best teams in the league closing out the season, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny sees multiple similarities between each club, noting it's not a surprise that each team has made it this far.
"You hear some of the things that they say," Matheny said. "And it's a lot of similar things that have been preached in our clubhouse. That it's about team. It's not about us individually. And grinding out at-bats and playing tough, playing hard, playing all the way through nine. Those are the things that I believe set good teams apart."
World Series Game 1: Boston vs. St. Louis - DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Wednesday, October 23
TIME: 8:00pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: FOX
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
