Depending on which teams are you rooting for, the biggest questions of tonight are whether Boston Red Sox can defeat the Cardinals in Game 6 and win the 2013 World Series, or whether the St. Louis Cardinals can keep itself from being eliminated and prevail to swing in Game 7 for the winner-take-all game.
Boston Red Sox leads the World Series with 3-2. Cardinals' star rookie pitcher Michael Wacha, 22, is matched up with Red Sox's John Lackey in Wednesday night's game.
Wacha is arguably the best pitcher in the playoffs, registering a 1.00 ERA in four starts and 28 strikeouts and 19 safes to bases in 27 innings. In Game 2, he allowed just two earned runs in six innings and gave up three hits to Boston's star hitters like David Ortiz 'Big Papi.'
Going into Game 6, the Cardinals are finding inspiration from their win against their comeback from 1-2 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
"The mentality was, go out there and win a ballgame or else our season's over," said Wacha, who allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings against the Pirates in Game 4 of the division series and will start Game 6 against the Red Sox, according to USA Today.
"It's gonna be the same mentality in Fenway on Wednesday. I'll just use that experience I learned in Pittsburgh."
For the Red Sox, Lackey is expected to bring to the game not just his ability to pitch fastballs, but his experiences at high-pressure times that requires accurate execution and right decisions. In 2002, he was the starting pitcher for the Anaheim Angels in the World Series Game 7 against the San Francisco Giants.
Among the batters on both teams, Red Sox's Ortiz has been hitting .733 in the World Series with two home runs, six RBI and a 1.267 slugging percentage, a stats likely to earn him the Most Valuable Player in 2013.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals' had no hits in four at-bats with runners in scoring position in Game 5, resulting in 8 for 33 (.242).
"We've been there before," said first baseman Allen Craig, referring to their team's 11th championship in 2011 when they faced a 3-2 deficit against the Texas Rangers. "It's gonna be tough, but we've got to take it one game at a time. We can do it."
If the Red Sox can win Game 6 or Game 7, it will be the first time since the team has won a World Series at historic Fenway Park since 1918. Fans are seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the possible win of Boston, making Game 6 tickets the most expensive in the city's history.
Without any changes in Cardinals' hitless situation, the odds of winning tonight's game belong to Boston.
