NOTEBOOK | World Series

Foulke unbeatable: Keith Foulke has been unbeatable in the postseason. In fact, nobody has even scored against him. Foulke finished off another fine effort by Boston's bullpen Sunday night, preserving a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals that gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the World Series. The right-hander with the nasty changeup hasn't allowed a run in nine postseason games spanning 12 innings. "I appreciate you bringing that up. That's always a great sign," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I've learned from my past playoffs where I didn't pitch so well. I'm just going out there and trying not to make mistakes." Thanks in large part to Foulke and his stellar setup men, Boston is two wins from its first World Series title since 1918. "It's easy to be consistent when you have guys down in the bullpen like we have. We keep each other in check," lefty Alan Embree said. "We've done well together all year -- it's not just the playoffs." Foulke entered with a runner on first and two outs in the eighth inning of Game 2. He retired all four batters he faced, striking out two -- his latest lights-out performance in October. The closer has allowed only five hits in the postseason, going 1-0 with two saves and 16 strikeouts.
Nothing for granted: The Red Sox certainly didn't plan to lose the first three games of the AL championship series against New York. But the lesson they learned could pay off now that they have a 2-0 lead. "We are not going to fall into the trap after winning the first two," Embree said. "You saw what happened with the Yankees." The Red Sox have won their last six games, but the Cardinals are 6-0 at home in the postseason. The next three games are in St. Louis, starting Tuesday night.
Getting a start: Marlon Anderson made his first start of the postseason for the Cardinals, serving as the designated hitter in Game 2. He batted ninth and went 0-for-2. Anderson was the Cardinals' top pinch-hitter this season, going 17-for-51. He also had six steals. He had some success against Boston starter Curt Schilling, going 3-for-10 in his career. Manager Tony La Russa chose Anderson over John Mabry (2-for-13 lifetime against Schilling) and Roger Cedeno (3-for-15). So Taguchi got his first postseason start in left field in Game 1, with Reggie Sanders serving as DH. Sanders returned to left field for Game 2.
Bad hop: La Russa spoke with Red Sox groundskeeper Dave Mellor on Sunday, a day after David Ortiz's hard grounder took a wicked hop and hit second baseman Tony Womack on the collarbone, knocking him out of Game 1. "The groundskeeper came up and apologized for the bad hop on Womack. I've never had that happen," La Russa said. "We were playing four or five steps in the dirt, we weren't really in, and we had a chance to get a double play or throw the guy out at the plate." Mellor said it wasn't really an apology. He just wanted to talk it over with La Russa and see how Womack was feeling. "There was nothing wrong with the field," Mellor said. "I don't like to see anybody get hurt. It looked like it was a hard shot with some topspin."
Source: Associated Press