With that win, Boston has now scored eight or more runs in 26 post-season games since the creation of divisional play in 1969.
That puts them just two behind the Yankees over that 45-year time span.
It's been that kind of year for the Sox--you might recall earlier in the season they were taking back the .500 mark in home games vs. the Yankees.
As the long, narrow chart at right shows, there have been 242 games in which a post-season team has scored eight or more runs since the post-season was expanded.
By contrast, there were only 81 World Series games from 1903-1968 that featured at least eight runs scored by a single team.
As you might expect, the Yankees dominated that list, with more than a third of the 8+ runs scored games to their credit (28, exactly the number of times they've scored at least that many of runs since the beginning of digital [EDIT: digital? that should be "divisional," n'est-ce pas??] play).
The Cardinals took a drubbing that came to pass in the very first inning when the (Pete) Kozma blues kicked in. The St. Louis shortstop, who's been filling in for veteran Rafael Furcal this season, pulled a "clank" on a double play ball hit by our old friend David Ortiz, giving the Sox an extra out.By the time the dust had settled, it was 3-0 Boston (bases clearing double from Mike Napoli). The Cards did not mark a threat until the top of the ninth, when Matt Holliday homered to get them off the schneid.
But the Cards can take solace in the fact that they are currently third in post-season run eruptions, with 22 games in which they've scored eight or more runs. They might want to try doing the same one of these days soon, as they try to break their five-game losing streak against the Red Sox...
