By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Carlos Beltran, back in the Cardinals lineup after leaving Game 1 with a rib injury, got his first career World Series hit Thursday night off Red Sox starter John Lackey.
Not much else happened in the first three innings of Game 2 as Lackey and St. Louis rookie Michael Wacha didn't allow a runner past first base in a 0-0 tie.
The Red Sox earned an 8-1 win in Game 1 Wednesday behind 7 2/3 strong innings from Jon Lester and were facing a 22-year-old phenom in Wacha on Thursday at Fenway Park.
Wacha, the NLCS MVP, came into the game with a 3-0 record and 0.43 earned run average in three starts this postseason. He struck out four, walked one and gave up a single to Jacoby Ellsbury in the third inning.
Making his first World Series start since winning Game 7 as a rookie for the Angels against the Giants in 2002, Lackey also struck out four in the first three innings.
Beltran was in the lineup after hurting his ribs running into the wall to take a grand slam away from David Ortiz in the second inning Wednesday night.
He got his first World Series hit in the first inning, a sliced single to left field. Yadier Molina slapped a single to right in the second inning for St. Louis' other hit.
Wacha had two strikeouts in the first inning and walked Mike Napoli with one out in the second. Ellsbury broke his bat on his single in the third, putting speed at first for Boston. But Shane Victorino flied out to end the inning.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday in St. Louis.
The Red Sox are riding several streaks.
They have won a franchise-record nine straight World Series games since losing Game 7 to the Mets in 1986. That includes sweeps of the Cardinals in 2004 and the Rockies in 2007.
The Red Sox haven't trailed in their last five World Series game against the Cardinals and they've won their last six Fall Series games at home.
The Cardinals have lost four straight World Series Game 2s, last winning one in 1985 at Kansas City.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/game-2-scoreless-after-3-innings