Red Sox lead Game 5 behind Ortiz, Lester

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Adam Wainwright had six strikeouts through three innings in Game 5 of the World Series, but the St. Louis Cardinals were still losing 1-0 to the Boston Red Sox thanks to David Ortiz and Jon Lester.

The roller-coaster Fall Classic has had few constants thus far. One has been Ortiz, who doubled in a run in the first inning, was hitting a robust .750 (9- of-12) this series and had reached base in eight straight plate appearances.

Lester has been another reliable staple for the Red Sox, who evened the series on Sunday and are trying to take a 3-2 lead back to Boston.

The left-hander is working on 16 1/3 career scoreless innings in three career World Series starts. He allowed a leadoff single to Carlos Beltran in the second and erased him with a double-play ball of the bat of a hobbled Allen Craig, then stranded David Freese in scoring position an inning later by freezing Matt Carpenter with a payoff pitch for his fourth punchout.

Wainwright, trying to bounce back from a loss to Lester in Game 1, retired eight in a row after surrendering consecutive doubles to Dustin Pedroia and Ortiz in the first inning.

John Farrell slightly moved Boston's lineup around, and the tweaks paid off early when Pedroia, batting second instead of third, lined an 0-2 breaking ball to the left-field wall for a two-bagger.

Ortiz followed with a sharp ground ball past the first-base bag and Pedroia scored on the double, giving Ortiz 14 RBI in his World Series career to match Dwight Evans' club record.

It was the 43rd time the World Series was tied 2-2. The Game 5 winner has won it all 64.3 percent of the time, though seven of the last 10 losers of this pivotal contest have rallied to capture the championship.