The St. Louis Cardinals were 90 feet away from victory-and a commanding 2-1 series lead-in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the World Series.

Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay stepped up to the plate with runners on the corners, fully knowing that a fairly innocent fly ball would land the Cardinals in the driver's seat of the World Series.

The Red Sox sent closer Koji Uehara to the mound, their best hope for escaping a jam and sending the game into extra innings.

Jay then put a ground ball into play that landed right in the glove of Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia then fired the ball off to Sox catcher Jared Saltamacchia for the surefire second out.

From there, though, one of the most unconventional plays in World Series history unfolded. Saltalamacchia decided to nail St. Louis first baseman Allen Craig at third base for the decisive third out. However, the ball went left of third baseman Will Middlebrooks and chaos ensued. Craig raced to home plate, but meanwhile, stumbled several times over Middlebrooks.

The ball, meanwhile, sailed well ahead of Craig at home plate; the shocking call was safe.

Just like that, after a rarely used obstruction call, Boston fell to a 2-1 deficit in the Fall Classic.

Saltalamacchia summed it up best following the Game 3 loss.

"You don't want to lose," he said. "I don't know what the rulebook says. If the rulebook says obstruction, you tip your cap and walk off the field and take it like a man."

The Red Sox had almost gotten away with a stunning victory too. Starter Jake Peavy struggled in four innings of work, surrendering two quick runs in the first inning and loading the bases twice. However, he did just enough to keep the Red Sox in striking distance.

Left fielder Mike Carp and right fielder Daniel Nava put two runs on the board to tie the game. Red Sox manager John Farrell sent in relief pitchers Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa to take care of business, the same duo that has been nearly flawless in the postseason. On Saturday, though, the two unraveled, setting the scene for a pivotal two-run double from right fielder Matt Holliday.

St. Louis then turned to its own formidable relief duo of Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal. Martinez and Rosenthal likewise buckled to the pressure, ceding two runs to shortstop Xander Bogaerts and Nava.

Third base umpire Jim Joyce rushed to defend the obstruction call.

"With the defensive player on the ground, without intent or intent, it's still obstruction," Joyce explained following the game. "You'd probably have to ask Middlebrooks that one, if he could have done anything. But that's not in our determination."

Sunday night, the Sox got a measure of revenge with a 4-2 victory in Game 4. After going down 2-0, shortstop Steven Drew singled designated hitter David Ortiz home in the top of the fifth inning to make it 2-1. One inning later, left fielder Jonny Gomes hit a three-run homer to make it 4-2 Boston. Then in the bottom of the ninth, closing pitcher Koji Uehara picked off a hit from shortstop Kolten Wong to secure a momentum-shifting victory.