RED SOX 7, ANGELS 6
Momentum shift
Ortiz's single in 11th caps Red Sox' rally
By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff | July 30, 2006
Like Josh Beckett, yesterday's starting pitcher, said after the
Red Sox' 7-6, 11-inning victory over the Los Angeles Angels before 35,621 at
Fenway Park, it has become the team joke.
He can't do it again, can he?
He, of course, is David Ortiz. And yes, he did it again, beating
the Angels' shift in the 11th with an opposite-field single to drive home Alex
Gonzalez with the winning run. The single off lefthander J.C. Romero, likely
snared by any shortstop playing a standard alignment, landed in the outfield
three innings after his solo homer touched down in the center-field bleachers, a
shot that kicked off a three-run, tying rally.
Earlier in the game, Ortiz had called his clout -- one that
center fielder Chone Figgins, who fell one putout short of tying a big league
record when he caught 11 fly balls yesterday, had no chance of bringing back --
to manager Terry Francona. Ortiz didn't predict his shift-beating single, but
he had a simple reason for why he ended the game.
``I don't like to play extra innings," Ortiz said.
Ortiz (4 for 5, four RBIs), who spanked his major league-best
35th homer, has four walkoff hits this season and 14 in his career.
``To have that guy on your team," said closer Jonathan
Papelbon, ``and to be able to take those pressure situations off everybody else
on the team, put it on his back, and take care of the ball club like he does is
pretty amazing. He's going to be the guy that we're leaning on a lot. But he's
the type of guy that accepts that role and enjoys it."
Earlier this year, Ortiz had struggled against the defensive
formations teams were using, even altering his swing to try to solve the shift.
But in conversations he's had with Francona and hitting coach Ron Jackson,
Ortiz has been focusing on taking what pitchers -- not necessarily defenses --
give him.
A good-looking, 93-mile-per-hour fastball from Scot Shields?
Let's lose it in the bleachers, like he did in the eighth when the Sox trailed,
6-3. A floater away from Romero? Go the other way, especially if the shortstop
is nowhere nearby.
``I think when David stays through the ball, he hits home
runs," Francona said. ``We don't want him to turn into a singles hitter.
We want him to hit home runs."
Ortiz's winning hit, however, would never have happened if not
for the following plays by his teammates:
A one-out double by Mike Lowell down the right-field line off
closer Francisco Rodriguez that scored two runs in the eighth and made it a 6-6
game. The third baseman, with runners on second and third, saw a K-Rod fastball
screaming toward his hands. Lowell fought off the pitch, floating it over first
baseman Robb Quinlan. Most of his 37 doubles (best in the majors) have been to
left field because of his preference to pull the ball.
``Good pitch, bad swing, good result," Lowell said. ``I'll
take it."
The three-run rally wiped out a lead the Angels grabbed in the seventh
when Curtis Pride, in his second at-bat since pinch hitting for Vladimir
Guerrero (the DH, who struck out twice against Beckett, left in the fifth
because of fatigue), cracked a two-run homer off Craig Hansen into the Sox'
bullpen. It was Pride's first home run since July 6, 2003, and put rookie
starter Jered Weaver (7-0, 1.51 ERA) on track to win his eighth straight
outing.
A perfect one-hop throw from Manny Ramírez to Jason Varitek that
prevented catcher Mike Napoli from scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the
11th.
``He throws the straightest ball of any left fielder I've ever
played with," Lowell said. ``He fielded it, threw home, and threw a
strike. He's very underrated. He throws the ball pretty good."
Napoli, who was hit by a Julian Tavarez pitch to lead off the
inning, advanced to second on Figgins's sacrifice bunt. Third baseman Maicer
Izturis followed with a single to left and third base coach Dino Ebel waved
Napoli home. But Ramírez, transferring the ball quickly from glove to hand,
gunned him down with Varitek blocking the plate.
``I never thought that Manny was going to throw the guy
out," Tavarez said. ``But you never know. It's Manny being Manny. I know
he's got a good arm. It was a perfect throw. I don't think it was a strong
throw, but it was right on the money. Everybody says, `Good job, Julian.' I say
good job to Manny and Ortiz. Manny won the game by making that throw home and
Ortiz got the base hit."
In the bottom of the ninth, Ramírez had a chance to win the
game, but he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. His throw made everybody forget
about that.
An inning-ending strikeout by Tavarez (2-3, 5.17 ERA), the
winning pitcher who bumbled through the 11th but walked off the field to a
standing ovation instead of the hoots he heard when he plunked
``The only thing I did was go to the mound and get my
boos," Tavarez said. ``Boo. It kind of [stinks], huh? We're in first place
and your fans are still booing. `You [stink]. Boo.' It's unbelievable. I got
used to it. Every time I go on the field to pitch and for BP. It's OK. They pay
for the tickets. They can say whatever they want to say."
After Ramírez's throw wiped out Napoli, Tavarez still had to
deal with shortstop Orlando Cabrera with Izturis on second. On a 1-and-2 count,
Tavarez threw a 90-m.p.h. sinking fastball that forced Cabrera (0 for 5, two
strikeouts) to swing and miss, ending the inning and setting up Ortiz's
heroics.
``He keeps coming through," Lowell said of Ortiz. ``He
better not pop up. Ever."