Prior to Game 2, James Taylor performed the national anthem, accompanying himself on guitar. I was impressed by the folksy rendition. He took very few liberties with the material, and the guitar seemed to welcome interested audience members to sing along.

In contrast to Derek Jeter's first-pitch out in Game 6 of the ALCS, Edgar Renteria extended his at-bat to 12 pitches, grounding out on the last one. The at-bat served to tax Curt Schilling while allowing St. Louis to see what he was bringing to the plate. Albert Pujols went on to hit a line drive into left center for a double, but he remained stranded at second as Scott Rolen lined out to third base to end the inning.

Two outs into the bottom of the first, Matt Morris issued back-to-back walks to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Jason Varitek then hit a flyball deep into center, where it bounced off the far left corner of the bullpens. By the time the ball was relayed to the infield, both runners had scored and Varitek was sliding into third. Once again, Boston provided their starting pitcher with the comfort of an early lead.

With Reggie Sanders on after a walk, Tony Womack hit a line drive into right center for a single in the top of the second. Sanders probably should have been able to advance to third, but he realized he did not touch second and returned to the bag, holding up his hands to keep Womack from continuing to second. Mike Matheny then lined out to third, and Bill Mueller was able to tag Sanders to end the inning with an unassisted double play. Mueller led off the bottom of the second with a groundball single into right field, but Mark Bellhorn grounded into a double play, and Johnny Damon struck out, allowing Morris to face only three batters that inning. Both starters were perfect in the third.

Pujols led off the fourth with a line drive down the left field line for a double. Playing deep, Nixon had to dive to catch the flyball Rolen hit to shallow right, which allowed Pujols to advance to third. Later in the inning, Sanders hit a groundball right at Mueller, who was eaten up by the ball. After having it tumble out of his arms, he attempted to reach down and pick it up off the ground with his bare hand only to miss again. Pujols scored and Sanders safely reached first. Womack grounded out to end the inning before the error could cause any more problems.

One out into the bottom of the fourth, Morris plunked Kevin Millar on the left elbow. Trot Nixon struck out, but Mueller advanced Millar to third with a line drive double down the right field line. Both runners scored when Bellhorn knocked a flyball into center, where it hit off the upper left corner of the Stop & Shop sign. Damon grounded out, leaving Bellhorn stranded at second, but the Red Sox entered the fifth with a 4-1 lead.

Mike Matheny led off the fifth with a groundball single into left field, but Marlon Anderson struck out, and Renteria grounded into a double play to end the inning. After giving up a lead off walk to Orlando Cabrera, Morris retired Ramirez. Nevertheless, the Cardinals brought in Cal Eldred to face Ortiz. Ortiz launched a towering shot down the right field line, similar to his Game 1 homer, but this one was called foul. His objections to the call led the umpires to confer, however the ruling stood, which likely was the correct decision. After Ortiz's at-bat resumed, he hit a catchable fly into right. Eldred went on to plunk Varitek on the right elbow before striking out Millar to finish off the inning.

Two outs into the top of the sixth, Mueller bobbled another grounder, allowing Rolen to safely reach first. Jim Edmonds then hit a grounder to Bellhorn, who also booted the ball, giving St. Louis runners at first and second on consecutive errors. Mueller partially redeemed himself by successfully fielding the groundball hit by Sanders and running to third to get the force out on Rolen to end the inning.

Nixon led off the bottom of the sixth with a groundball single up the middle into centerfield. Two outs later Damon hit a groundball into left field for a single, moving Nixon to second. Cabrera then bounced a flyball off the upper portion of the Green Monster for a single that drove in both Nixon and Damon. After Ramirez dropped a flyball into shallow center for a single, the Cardinals brought in Ray King to face Ortiz. Ortiz struck out, ending the inning with Boston up 6-1.

Although Schilling had only thrown 94 pitches, the Red Sox sent Alan Embree out for the seventh. Embree validated the decision by striking out the side.

As I dislike the continued practice of singing God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch, I have avoided commenting on the performances broadcast during the playoffs. However, I felt Donna Summer offered one of the best renditions I've ever heard.

Despite issuing two walks, Marquis managed to prevent Boston from increasing their lead in the seventh. Timlin took over for Embree in the top of the eighth, issuing a leadoff walk to Renteria. Renteria moved to second on a Walker groundout and advanced to third when Pujols hit a groundball into left for a single. Rolen then hit a catchable fly into deep center, allowing Renteria to score and prompting the Red Sox to bring Keith Foulke in to close out the inning. Foulke complied, striking out Edmonds.

Al Reyes then pitched a perfect inning, taking St. Louis into the ninth where they faced the prospect of overcoming a 6-2 deficit or going down 2-0 in the series. Sanders battled with Foulke for ten pitches but ultimately struck out. Womack subsequently lined out to right, and Matheny grounded out to short to end the game. The series will shift to St. Louis tomorrow with the Cardinals hoping to dig out of their hole while at home.