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September 15, 2007
BOSTON — When David Ortiz woke up yesterday morning, he didn’t think he was going to be able to play.
The Red Sox slugger said he sprained his knee when he slid into home plate during Friday night’s loss to the New York Yankees in Game 1 of this three-game set.
Yesterday’s game was crucial for Boston to keep its lead in the A.L. East standings secure, so when Ortiz arrived at Fenway Park, the competitive monster inside him woke up.
“Once you get here, everything totally changes mentally,” he said. “There’s no way you can [sit] out…. We have guys stepping forward and doing different things, and that’s what you want to see in this case.”
He wasn’t alone.
Every player in the Red Sox clubhouse knew how devastating Friday’s defeat was or could have been if New York was able to carry that momentum, but Boston wasn’t about to let that happen, even though everyone at this time of the season is bruised and banged up. The players know these games mean too much for anyone to sit back and take a day or an at-bat off.
As a result, the Red Sox regrouped and staged an offensive barrage en route to a 10-1 victory over the Yankees, and increase their lead again to 5½ games. Boston starter Josh Beckett continued his Cy Young-worthy dominance as the right-hander improved to 19-6 this season. He worked seven solid innings and allowed just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts.
Looking at the final-game statistics doesn’t tell the complete story of this one. There was so much more than hits, runs and errors. Boston and New York provided an all-out, down-and-dirty September game worthy of postseason accolades.
There were collisions at home plate. Rookies playing like veterans. And when it was over, there were plenty of ice packs to go around.
“Everybody knows that when we’re playing the Yankees it’s a lot more intense than any other game, no matter what,” said Red Sox utility man Eric Hinske, who was part of a home-plate collision with Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. “So when you come to the yard, you better be ready to play. If you’re not, the fans will let you know it right away. If you can’t get up for a Red Sox-Yankees game, you’ve got something wrong with you. The electricity in the stadium, and everything else — it’s awesome to be a part of. It was fun to be on the field today.”
After the game, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek stood at his locker wrapped in ice almost from head to toe. He’s sore. Everyone’s sore. Everyone is playing through it.
“Your season is too long not to ever be banged up,” Varitek said. “It’s the nature of the beast for what we do. You have to try to stay mentally strong and focus on the little things.”
Varitek said he felt that the club was feels this club is focused right now.
“Especially with our attitude to bounce back after a difficult loss (Friday) night, it shows a lot,” he said.
Boston and New York were tied at 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth inning. That’s when the often-booed, but streaking J.D. Drew provided a huge RBI-single that proved to be the game-winning run. The Red Sox piled it on from there, scoring three in the sixth, four in the seventh and one more in the eighth eight for a 10-1 victory.
Now that the series is even at a game apiece, tonight’s finale is sure to be could be a classic. The Sox send Curt Schilling to the mound, while Roger Clemens gets the nod for the Yankees.
“It’s not over, yet,” Ortiz said. “We have a lot of games left. You saw what happened (Friday) night, they caught us sleeping. They can turn things around in a heartbeat.”
--JOE McDONALD
Posted by Corey Bourassa 
at 10:28 PM to McDonald
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