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August 18, 2007
BOSTON -- It’s alive!
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz once again has life in his bat. And, when that happens it usually means good things for Boston as it did last night.
With the Sox trailing by five runs heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Boston put up a 6-spot thanks in part to a grand slam by Ortiz en route to a 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park.
“That was well struck,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “The timing wasn’t bad, either. . . That one swing changed the complexion of the ballgame.”
Fellow Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez, who entered the eighth inning 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, provided a much needed two-run double for insurance.
For Ortiz, who has been a walking ice pack for much of the season as he’s battled aches and pains on both his upper and lower body, it’s been a good couple of days. He’s proven he won’t let the injuries hinder his ability to compete.
“I’m just trying to hang tight and help this ballclub,” said Ortiz. “I know they count on me and I don’t think it’s fair to shut things down when other people would like to. It would only get worse if I’m out of the lineup, so I’m just trying to do what the trainers tell me through the season and I fight back [the pain] when I go out there to play.”
Ironically, Francona was asked prior to last night’s game if he thought Ortiz had been taking better swings of late, and the manager said he noticed Ortiz was taking more aggressive swings where his legs and hands were involved, especially during his 4-for-9 performance with a home run and four RBI during Friday’s doubleheader.
Last night the slugger’s body served as medieval catapult as he launched a ball out of Fenway Park with the strength of 100 men.
text ignored“I don’t like to talk about my homers,” he said. “But that was a pretty good one.”
It’s been awhile since Ortiz connected as well as he did in the six-run fifth inning as he drove the offering from Angels starter Jered Weaver and seemed like it was going to hit the Prudential Building downtown.
Before Friday’s twin bill, Ortiz had gone through a 10-game stretch without a home run, and with his granny last night now has two in three games to reach 21 on the season.
Both Ortiz and Ramirez have seen a drop in power numbers this season as both have combined for just 40 roundtrippers. It’s a much different story from a year ago when Ortiz finished 2006 with 54, while Ramirez collected 35. With a month and a half remaining in the regular season this year, it’s highly unlikely they’ll even come close to those numbers.
No matter because it’s important that Ortiz seems to be getting comfortable at the plate at the right time.
He needed to be last night to help out his starting pitcher.
Red Sox ace Curt Schilling, making his 18th start of the season, struggled to find his groove in the first two innings as the Angels climbed out to a 4-0 lead.
With one out in the first inning, Orlando Cabrera doubled to left and later scored on a fielder’s choice for a 1-0 Anaheim advantage. Schilling surrendered three more runs in the second as Reggie Willits provided a two-out RBI-single before Chone Figgins snuck a two-run homer around Pesky’s Pole for a four-run lead.
Schilling settled in and retired seven of the next eight batters he faced – only allowing a double to Jeff Mathis – until Vladimir Guerrero belted a solo home run into the Monster seats for a 5-0 Angels lead in the fifth inning.
Weaver cruised through his first four innings of work, retiring 12 of the first 15 batters he faced until Boston made a huge dent in the fifth.
The Sox’ Eric Hinske (single), Coco Crisp (double) and Alex Cora (hit-by-pitch) all reached before Julio Lugo provided a two-run single. With no outs, Boston continued it rally as Ortiz crushed his seventh-career grand slam, and the team’s fifth in 2007, as he deposited it half way up the right-field seats for a 6-5 advantage.
And, the Sox weren’t done in their comeback.
Schilling took his first lead of the game and retired the side in order in the top of the sixth inning to close out his outing. Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin took over in the seventh and retired the side before lefty Hideki Okajima worked a perfect eighth thanks to three terrific defensive plays by Crisp in center field.
Boston pushed across four in the bottom half of the inning as Ramirez collected a two-run double, Jason Varitek provided a RBI-single and J.D. Drew scored on a wild pitch to give closer Jonathan Papelbon a five-run cushion in the ninth.
When it was over, it was Ortiz’s much-sought after grand slam that proved crucial.
“I don’t get to see many pitches like that,” he said.
There’s a reason for that, just ask Weaver.
--JOE McDONALD
Posted by Chris Venditto 
at 11:09 PM | Permalink
bill | August 19, 2007 12:57 AM link
Sox can't afford to loose games as yankees will be winning.