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David Ortiz, for the first time since 2003, will stay home for the All-Star break. But the most important thing for Big Papi is that he’s swinging like an All-Star again, and that can only mean good things for the Red Sox.
When the Sox needed a big hit on Wednesday night, Ortiz was the one who provided it, unloading for a prodigious three-run blast to right that fueled his team to a 5-4 victory over the A’s in the rubber match of a three-game series. The clout by Ortiz came in the bottom of the sixth and snapped a 1-1 tie.
The ball traveled through a howling wind that was blowing in from right on an unseasonably chilly night. “You have to hit the ball pretty good tonight to hit the ball out,” said Ortiz. “When that wind is blowing from the ocean like that, it knocks every single ball down.”
Well, almost every single ball. “David just mashes one right through the wind, so it gave us a chance to play with a lead, and we needed it,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He hit that ball — that’s as good as he’s hit a ball. The wind was pretty strong tonight.”
The Red Sox never relinquished that lead, giving veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, fresh off being named an All-Star for the first time at the age of 42, his American League-leading 11th victory. Wakefield allowed 10 hits and three runs over six-plus innings, walking one and striking out a season-high eight batters.
“I’ve faced him a lot, but he threw some tonight that I’d never seen move like that before,” A’s second baseman Mark Ellis offered. “It was like he had a remote control, or a joystick. It was incredible.”
Now that Wakefield can check All-Star off on the list of things he’s never done before, how about a 20-win season? “That would be nice,” said Wakefield. “That would be a treat, that’s for sure.”
Though Ortiz always takes pleasure in punishing the baseball, he was even more gratified to again put Wakefield — his teammate the entire time he’s been in Boston — in the win column again. “Unbelievable,” said Ortiz. “I’m really happy for my man. He’s going to the All-Star Game. I’m going to park myself at home and I’m going to watch when he comes to pitch. I think it’s going to be really fun and I’m wondering who’s going to be the catcher at the time. Good luck.”
The homer was Ortiz’s 10th of the season and the 299th of his career. It was Ortiz’s ninth homer in the past 28 games. “Awesome,” said Wakefield. “You know, we all in the clubhouse have had so much confidence in him even though he was struggling in the first month or two. He’s a presence at the plate and we need his bat in that lineup every night. He’s the man — that’s for sure.”
