Red Sox Win Evens World Series

Jonny Gomes arrived at Busch Stadium expecting to watch Game 4 of the World Series from the Red Sox dugout. Halfway through batting practice, Boston's plans changed. Shane Victorino didn't recover in time from a bad back. With the Red Sox trailing St. Louis by two games to one in the World Series, that meant Gomes was going to start in left field. Gomes hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off reliever Seth Maness in the sixth inning, helping the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 4-2 last night to level the Series and ensure it will end back at Boston's Fenway Park.

Gomes helped Boston get started in the fifth when he followed David Ortiz's leadoff double with a 10-pitch walk that wore down starter Lance Lynn, who had faced the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings. Stephen Drew's sacrifice fly tied the score 1-all, erasing a deficit created when center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury's third-inning error advanced Matt Carpenter into scoring position for Carlos Beltran's RBI single. Not long after, Gomes' drive put Boston ahead 4-1. With adrenaline taking over, Gomes spiked an arm through the air as he rounded first base, yelled and banged his chest with his right fist twice. Teammates tugged on Gomes' beard for good luck when he got back to the dugout, including a two-handed pull by Mike Napoli. Click for more from the game. (More Boston Red Sox stories.)