Before Game 1 of the World Series could commence, the standard pre-game ritual of introducing the starting lineups needed to take place. I do not recall ever watching a team introduce a large portion of their support staff (including bat boys) in addition to non-starters who were with the team during the season but did not make the World Series roster, however Boston chose to acknowledge those people individually before recognizing their starting lineup.

As foreshadowed when ESPN cornered Steven Tyler in the stands during Game 3 of the division series, Aerosmith's lead singer performed the national anthem. While some rock 'n rollers possess a foundation of vocal talent to revert to in situations like this, Tyler screamed the lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner as he would a rock anthem. The performance stood in stark contrast to the somber, reverent renditions frequently sung and did not invite a sing-along. I maintain that those singing the anthem should focus on including their audience in a unifying celebration of country rather than promoting their own image, but the enthusiasm with which Tyler belted out his version created an energy absent from the pallid performances offered by pubescent pop-stars unable to remember the lyrics.

Although Tim Wakefield was pitching with his back to the wind, which FOX explained to us is not ideal for a knuckleballer, St. Louis appeared uncomfortable at the plate in the first. On the ninth pitch of his at-bat, Larry Walker hit a line drive down the right field line for a double, but no one else was able to handle the knuckleball.

In the bottom of the first, Johnny Damon provided his teammates with a good look at Woody Williams, extending his leadoff at-bat to 10 pitches and sending the last pitch down the left field line for a double. Williams then hit Orlando Cabrera in the left shoulder with the ball appearing to bounce off the shoulder and into Cabrera's face. After being checked out, he took first base. Manny Ramirez hit a flyball into the right field corner, and although Walker made the catch, Damon advanced to third. David Ortiz followed, propelling a shot high into the air down the right field line where it veered further right only after clearing the foul pole for a three-run homer. Kevin Millar bounced Williams' next pitch off the upper portion of the Green Monster for a double, and Trot Nixon hit a catchable fly into deep right, advancing Millar to third. Bill Mueller then hit a groundball down the left field line, driving Millar in with a single. The inning came to a close with Doug Mirabelli striking out.

Wakefield took a 4-0 lead into the second. Acknowledging that he would have difficulty with the knuckleball, Jim Edmonds surprised the Red Sox by bunting the first pitch of his at-bat down the third base line and was rewarded with a single. Reggie Sanders then worked Wakefield for a walk. After Tony Womack laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third, Mike Matheny hit a sac fly into deep center, driving in Edmonds and moving Sanders to third. However, So Taguchi struck out, leaving Sanders stranded.

Mark Bellhorn led off the bottom of the second with a flyball single into left field. With two outs down, Ramirez hit a line drive into left for a single, and Ortiz took a four-pitch walk to load the bases. However, Boston failed to score as Millar grounded out to end the inning.

In the top of the third, Walker narrowed the Red Sox's lead to 4-2 with a solo shot that resembled a scaled down version of Ortiz's earlier homer, veering right after passing the right field foul pole. Wakefield then grazed a pitch off the shoulder of Pujols, but Rolen grounded into a double play to end the inning. With Mueller on first after a walk, Mirabelli hit a single off the upper portion of the Green Monster, giving Boston runners at the corners. Bellhorn then walked to load the bases for Damon, who knocked a groundball into right for a single that drove in Mueller. At that point, the Cardinals removed Williams and put in Dan Haren. Cabrera sent Haren's first pitch lining into left for a single that drove in Mirabelli. Ramirez hit a groundball to short, where Renteria chose to throw to second to get Cabrera while Bellhorn crossed the plate. Cabrera slid into second and then popped up, essentially preventing Tony Womack from throwing to first to get the double play. Ortiz took another four-pitch walk to reload the bases, but Millar once again grounded out to end the inning. Going into the fourth, the score stood 7-2 in favor of the Red Sox.

Wakefield threw only two strikes while walking the Cardinals first three batters in the fourth. Matheny then hit a catchable fly into right field, which should have only resulted in one run. However, after receiving the relay from Nixon, Millar made a poor throw to third base in an attempt to get Sanders. The ball skidded past Mueller and into St. Louis's dugout, allowing Sanders to score and Womack to advance to third. Taguchi followed with a grounder to third and rather than throw home to prevent Womack from scoring Mueller took the sure out at first, narrowing Boston's lead to 7-5. Wakefield then issued a walk to Renteria, prompting Boston to replace him with Bronson Arroyo. Walker hit Arroyo's first pitch into right field for a groundball single, giving the Cardinals runners at the corners, but they remained stranded when Pujols grounded out to end the inning. Nixon and Mueller opened the bottom of the fourth with walks, but the Red Sox were unable to drive them in.

Following a perfect inning from Arroyo, Ramirez hit a groundball down the left field line. After clearing third base in fair territory, the ball ricocheted off of the stands where they jut out closer to the line. Coming off the bounce, the ball shot towards left field umpire Gerry Davis, who failed to get out of the way and was struck in the groin area. Renteria then recovered it, holding Ramirez to a single, though he likely would not have advanced further even if the umpire had moved out of the way. Ramirez remained stranded when the inning ended.

Two outs into the top of the sixth, Taguchi hit a soft grounder to the left of the mound. Arroyo came off the mound and fielded the ball but made a wild throw to first base, which soared past Millar and into Boston's dugout to put Taguchi on second. Renteria subsequently drove in Taguchi with a line drive double into left field. With Millar off the line, Walker sent a grounder bouncing down the right field line for a double, scoring Renteria and tying the game at 7. Arroyo struck out Pujols to end the inning.

Haren pitched a perfect sixth, and the Red Sox sent Mike Timlin out to throw a one-two-three seventh. After relieving Haren prior to the bottom of the seventh, Kiko Calero issued a leadoff walk to Bellhorn. Bellhorn then advanced to second on a Damon groundout. Cabrera followed with a walk, giving Boston runners at first and second. When Ramirez hit a line drive into shallow center, Bellhorn scored. Edmonds made a horrible throw, which flew a third of the way up the first base line instead of giving St. Louis a chance to tag out Bellhorn at the plate. If Edmonds had thrown to third, he probably would have gotten Cabrera. Matheny did catch the throw and made a smart relay to second, hoping Ramirez would run into the tag. However, Ramirez was able to reverse course and return to first, as the Cardinals couldn't risk having Cabrera score while they were engaged in a rundown between first and second.

With Ortiz due up, St. Louis removed Calero and put in Ray King. Ortiz hit a bouncing grounder at Womack, which hopped up and appeared to strike the second baseman in the chest. As Womack walked around crouched over with his right arm clutched to his chest, we feared he couldn't breath or at the very least that he had broken his hand, as it looked like he might have put his bare hand up to protect himself. Medical personnel rushed onto the field, determining that while Womack was in no shape to remain in the game, he had not been struck in any life-threatening manner. Although replays seemed to show the ball deflecting slightly off his fingers, his hand was not substantially injured. Precautionary x-rays also revealed no fracture to his collarbone. After Womack was helped from the field, Marlon Anderson replaced him at second.

The ball bouncing off of Womack allowed Cabrera to score easily, putting the Red Sox up 9-7. King remained in to retire Millar, but when Boston pinch-hit for Nixon with Gabe Kapler, the Cardinals put in Cal Eldred. Eldred struck out Kapler to end the inning.

One out into the top of the eighth, Timlin gave up a single to Matheny and St. Louis pinch-hit for Taguchi with Roger Cedeno, provoking the Red Sox into sending in Alan Embree. Cedeno dropped a flyball into shallow right for a single. Pinch-running for Matheny, Jason Marquis advanced to second, though he stumbled two thirds of the way to the bag so his approach to the base can kindly be described as a flailing belly flop.

With the go-ahead run coming to the plate in the form of Renteria, Boston removed Embree and brought in closer Keith Foulke. Renteria hit a groundball into left field, where Ramirez slightly bobbled it. Marquis initially held up at third but went home when he saw Ramirez's error. Ramirez threw home and the play at the plate was close with Varitek holding onto the ball and possibly tagging Marquis as Marquis slid late, but the Cardinals received the call, bringing them within one run of the Red Sox. Walker followed, hitting a flyball into left field. As Ramirez ran in to make the catch, his left foot appeared to catch in the grass. The ball bounced off his glove as he somersaulted forward. While Cedeno scored, Ramirez popped up and retrieved the ball, throwing to third to hold Renteria, though there was a moment of concerned when the throw bounced in front of Mueller and almost got away. Foulke intentionally walked Pujols to load the bases before retiring Rolen on a pop up and striking out Edmonds to prevent St. Louis from taking the lead.

Julian Tavarez took the mound for the Cardinals in the bottom of the eighth. One out into the inning, Renteria bobbled a grounder hit by Varitek, allowing the catcher to safely reach first. Bellhorn then shot a ball down the right field line, hitting the foul pole for a two-run homer. Anderson managed a double in the top of the ninth, but Boston's two-run lead remained intact, allowing the Red Sox to take Game 1 by a score of 11-9.