Cardinals beat Red Sox for 2-1 series lead

The St. Louis Cardinals seized their first lead of the 109th World Series, taking advantage of a ninth-inning obstruction call for a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Allen Craig scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth after he tripped over Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks before racing to home plate to give the Cardinals a victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Craig was tagged out at home plate, but because the umpires ruled that Middlebrooks had interfered with him at third St. Louis was awarded the winning run. The Boston players protested vigorously, but television replays showed that Craig stumbled over a fallen Middlebrooks after the Red Sox infielder appeared to lift both his legs in an attempt to slow Craig down. Middlebrooks was charged with an error on the play. What began as a low-scoring pitching duel turned into a see-saw offensive contest in the late innings, capped by the bizarre finish. Game four is scheduled for Sunday in St. Louis, where the Cardinals will try to take a 3-1 stranglehold. Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday went two-for-five at the plate with three runs batted in and starting pitcher Joe Kelly was terrific through five innings for the Cardinals, who have rebounded nicely from their 8-1 drubbing in game one to win the next two contests. Kelly pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out six in front of a sold-out crowd of 47,432 at Busch Stadium. Source: AFP