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Boston • There hasn't been a party like this in New England for nearly a century.

Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first.

David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, baseball's bearded wonders, capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons.

Shane Victorino, symbolic of these resilient Sox, returned from a stiff back and got Boston rolling with a three-run double off the Green Monster against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.

John Lackey became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams, allowing one run over 62⁄3 innings 11 years after his Game 7 victory as an Angels rookie in 2002.

With fans roaring on every pitch and cameras flashing, Koji Uehara struck out Matt Carpenter for the final out. The Japanese pitcher jumped into the arms of catcher David Ross while Red Sox players rushed from the dugout and bullpen as the Boston theme "Dirty Water" played on the public-address system.

"I say I work inside a museum, but this is the loudest the museum's been in a long time," outfielder Jonny Gomes said.

And the Red Sox didn't have to fly the trophy home. For the first time since Babe Ruth's team back in 1918, Boston won the title at Fenway Park.

The 101-year-old ballpark, oldest in the majors, was packed with 38,447 singing, shouting fans anticipating a celebration 95 years in the making.

There wasn't the cowboy-up comeback charm of "The Idiots" from 2004, who swept St. Louis to end an 86-year title drought. There wasn't that cool efficiency of the 2007 team that swept Colorado.

This time, they were Boston Strong — playing for a city shaken by the marathon bombings in April.

After late-season slumps in 2010 and 2011, the embarrassing revelations of a chicken-and-beer clubhouse culture that contributed to the ouster of manager Terry Francona, and the daily tumult of Bobby Valentine's one-year flop, these Red Sox grew on fans. Just like the long whiskers on the players' faces, starting with Gomes' scruffy spring training beard.

"As soon as we went to Fort Myers, the movie's already been written," Gomes said. "All we had to do was press play, and this is what happened."

Ortiz, the only player remaining from the 2004 champs, was the MVP after a Ruthian World Series. He batted .688 (11 for 16) with two homers, six RBIs and eight walks — including four in the finale — for a .760 on-base percentage in 25 plate appearances.

Even slumping Stephen Drew delivered a big hit in Game 6, sending Wacha's first pitch of the fourth into the right-center bullpen.

By the time the inning was over, RBI singles by Mike Napoli and Victorino had made it 6-0, and the Red Sox were on their way.

And now, all over New England, Boston's eighth championship can be remembered for the beard-yanking bonding.

The win capped an emotional season for the Red Sox, one heavy with the memory of the events that unfolded on Patriots Day, when three people were killed and more than 260 wounded in bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon. The Red Sox wore "Boston Strong" logos on their left sleeves and erected a large emblem on the Green Monster as a constant reminder.

A "B Strong" logo was mowed into center-field grass at Fenway.

"All those that were affected in the tragedy — Boston Strong!" Victorino said.

Red, white and blue fireworks fired over the ballpark as Commissioner Bud Selig presented the World Series trophy to Red Sox owners John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.

"It was an awesome atmosphere here tonight," Lackey said.

Among the players blamed for the indifferent culture at the end of the Francona years, Lackey took the mound two days shy of the second anniversary of his elbow surgery and got his first Series win since the 2002 clincher. He pitched shutout ball into the seventh, when Carlos Beltran's RBI single ended the Cardinals' slump with runners in scoring position at 0 for 14.

Junichi Tazawa came in with the bases loaded and retired Allen Craig on an inning-ending grounder to first. Brandon Workman followed in the eighth and Uehara finished.

St. Louis had been seeking its second title in three seasons, but the Cardinals sputtered.

Wacha entered 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his postseason career but gave up six runs, five hits and four walks in 32⁄3 innings, the shortest start of the 22-year-old's big league career.

"They came up here and prepared and jumped on him, and got the big hits when they needed to," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. —

Red Sox 6, Cardinals 1

O Boston's John Lackey holds St. Louis to one run over 62⁄3 innings to earn the win.

• Shane Victorino hits a three-run double in the third inning for the Red Sox.

INSIDE • David Ortiz earns MVP honors while winning third title. > C3 •

World Series champions

2013 • Boston (AL) 4, St. Louis (NL) 2

2012 • San Francisco (NL) 4, Detroit (AL) 0

2011 • St. Louis (NL) 4, Texas (AL) 3

2010 • San Francisco (NL) 4, Texas (AL) 1

2009 • New York (AL) 4, Philadelphia (NL) 2

2008 • Philadelphia (NL) 4, Tampa Bay (AL) 1

2007 • Boston (AL) 4, Colorado (NL) 0

2006 • St. Louis (NL) 4, Detroit (AL) 1

2005 • Chicago (AL) 4, Houston (NL) 0

2004 • Boston (AL) 4, St. Louis (NL) 0 Red Sox 6, Cardinals 1

St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

M.Crpenter 2b 5 0 3 0 0 1 .296

Beltran rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .294

Holliday lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .250

Craig dh 4 0 2 0 0 0 .375

Y.Molina c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .304

Ma.Adams 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .136

Freese 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .158

Jay cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .167

Descalso ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .100

Totals 36 1 9 1 1 6

Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Ellsbury cf 4 2 2 0 1 1 .250

Pedroia 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 .208

D.Ortiz dh 1 2 0 0 4 1 .688

Napoli 1b 5 0 1 1 0 4 .154

J.Gomes lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .118

Victorino rf 3 0 2 4 1 0 .154

Bogaerts 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .238

Drew ss 4 1 2 1 0 0 .158

D.Ross c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .188

Totals 33 6 8 6 7 9

St. Louis 000 000 100 — 1 9 1

Boston 003 300 00x — 6 8 1

E—M.Carpenter (2), Pedroia (1).

LOB—St. Louis 9, Boston 11. 2B—M.Carpenter (1), Ellsbury (1), Victorino (1). HR—Drew (1), off Wacha. RBIs—Beltran (3), Napoli (4), Victorino 4 (4), Drew (2).

Runners left in scoring position—St. Louis 6 (Jay 2, Freese, Holliday, Craig 2) Boston 5 (D.Ross, Bogaerts 3, J.Gomes). RISP—St. Louis 1 for 9 Boston 3 for 12.

Runners moved up—Beltran, Pedroia 2. GIDP—Beltran.

DP—Boston 1 (Drew, Napoli).

St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Wacha L, 1-1 32⁄3 5 6 6 4 5 7.45

Lynn 0 2 0 0 1 0 4.76

Maness 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 3.86

Siegrist 11⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 2.70

Ca.Martinez 12⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 4.50

Choate 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Rosenthal 1 0 0 0 1 1 0.00

Boston IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Lackey W, 1-1 62⁄3 9 1 1 1 5 2.57

Tazawa 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Workman 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Uehara 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00

Lynn pitched to 3 batters in the 4th.

Choate pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Inherited runners-scored—Lynn 2-2, Maness 3-0, Rosenthal 1-0, Tazawa 3-0. IBB—off Rosenthal (D.Ortiz), off Wacha (D.Ortiz, D.Ortiz). HBP—by Wacha (J.Gomes). WP—Lackey 2. Balk—Rosenthal.

Umpires—Home, Jim Joyce First, John Hirschbeck Second, Mark Wegner Third, Dana DeMuth Right, Bill Miller Left, Paul Emmel.

T—3:16. A—38,447 (37,499).