World Series 2013 Schedule: Complete Guide to Cardinals vs. Red Sox

It wasn't an easy road for either club by any means, but the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox made it through a daunting playoff road to meet in the 2013 World Series.

The Cards and Red Sox garnered the best regular-season record in the National League and American League, respectively, but each side has surpassed expectations since the beginning of the season and looks to etch 2013 in history. 

The two have become arguably the most clutch teams in baseball over the last decade. The Sox swept St. Louis in 2004 for their first World Series since 1918 and added another in 2007 by sweeping the Rockies.

Meanwhile, the Cards will win the Series in two of the last three years should they pull it out. 

Per MLB on Twitter, there'll be plenty of red to go around:

Let's take a look at everything you need to know for viewing the 109th World Series.

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 1	St. Louis at Boston	Wed, Oct. 23	8:07 p.m.	FOX
Game 2	St. Louis at Boston	Thu, Oct. 24	8:07 p.m.	FOX
Game 3	Boston at St. Louis	Sat, Oct. 26	8:07 p.m.	FOX
Game 4	Boston at St. Louis	Sun, Oct. 27	8:15 p.m.	FOX
Game 5*	Boston at St. Louis	Mon, Oct. 28	8:07 p.m.	FOX
Game 6*	St. Louis at Boston	Wed, Oct. 30	8:07 p.m.	FOX
Game 7*	St. Louis at Boston	Thu, Oct. 31	8:07 p.m.	FOX

 *Schedule information courtesy of MLB.com

Will Pitching Dominate the Series?

The Cardinals and Red Sox both emerged out of LCS series that included low batting averages and impossible-to-hit pitchers. The MVP of each series was a pitcher. 

Although the series went six games, the Cardinals effectively shut down the hot Dodgers bats for much of the series. The difference? Michael Wacha's two wins, both of which ended with a zero on the Dodgers' final scoreline. 

In the American League, it was expected to be an offensive show. And while the bats were somewhat more effective than in the NL, a couple of 1-0 games surprised viewers. 

This series has the potential to be dominated by pitching again. Rookie Michael Wacha won the NLCS MVP award for the Cardinals, but their ace Adam Wainwright could prove to be unhittable in Game 1 and should garner two starts in the series. 

The Red Sox rotation has far surpassed expectations, with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz having crazy-good years. The bullpen has been exceptional, with Koji Uehara garnering ALCS MVP honors for his work in relief. 

But all of the pitching talk could fall by the wayside quickly in this series between two offensive juggernauts. The Red Sox topped the majors in runs and finished second in batting average, while the Cardinals finished third and fourth, respectively, in those categories. 

The Cardinals will receive a huge shot in the arm with the return of cleanup hitter Allen Craig, who will be able to hit in the designated hitter slot against Boston, per MLB on Twitter:

Of course, the Red Sox bats came to life against the Tigers late in the series, and it ended up making the difference.

It's tough to ignore what these pitching staffs are doing, but a quick glance at the lineup of each team gives the indication that this could be a slugfest.