a double to left-center. It took 31 pitches before Wainwright closed the inning. It was reminiscent of '04, when the Cardinals opened their World Series visit to Boston by allowing the Red Sox to tally four first-inning runs.

"That whole inning was kind of a whirlwind," Carpenter said. "It was getting away from us before we could stop it or really figure out what was going on. That call, obviously, was a big, changing moment. ... I don't think it could have gone any stranger and any worse for the Cardinals."

The Cards were no sharper defensively in the second, which started with Wainwright and Molina staring at each other as a popup fell between them. David Ross lined a single just out of Carpenter's reach. Kozma loaded the basesagain on his second error, a backhanded stop the typically sure-handed defender couldn't make.

After an RBI single by Pedroia, Beltran ran full-speed into the right-field wall while robbing Ortiz of his second grand slam this postseason. He would be replaced in the field by Jon Jay the next inning.

St. Louis' offense couldn't bail out Wainwright, who had allowed four earned runs in his previous three postseason starts combined. A bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth was squashed when David Freese grounded into a double play. Jay grounded out with runners on second and third in the fifth.

Lester limited the Cardinals to five hits in 7 2/3 innings as they fell to 21-26 against left-handed pitchers this year. The Cards' lone run -- courtesy of Matt Holliday's home run --