BOSTON — With their backs against the wall down a run in the ninth inning, the Cardinals’ offense showed a little bit of everything. Patience. Speed. Power. They needed it all as they rallied against one of the game’s premier closers.
The Cardinals won their first game of the season when they trailed after eight innings. They sent four men to the plate against Red Sox reliever Kenly Jansen, and not one of them made an out. Jensen recorded his 400th career save on Wednesday, the second-youngest in MLB history to reach that benchmark, but he couldn’t solve the Cardinals as they scored three in the ninth on their way to a 8-6 win in the opening game of a three-game set at Fenway Park on Friday night.