Big Papi strikes again! by Jared Carrabis
The King of Clutch hits another walk-off in thrilling Red Sox victory


After suffering one of the most devastating losses in recent memory, leave it to David Ortiz to turn that frown upside down.

Similar to how the Red Sox had performed the night before, the Boston offense got off to a painfully slow start, as the Tigers’ offense built a respectable lead early.

With Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound, the major league RBI leader looked to add to his impressive total. Second in the American League in homers, Miguel Cabrera annihilated a Matsuzaka fastball offering that ended up somewhere in Kenmore Square.

Allowing RBI hits in with second and fourth inning, the Red Sox quickly found themselves in a 4-0 hole. Tigers’ starter Max Scherzer held the Red Sox scoreless into the sixth inning, as he came out for the seventh with a four-run lead.

With Adrian Beltre on base with a single, Bill Hall became desperate to get something going for the Red Sox, as he tried to stretch his base hit into a double, but was unsuccessful in doing so.

Making his major league debut on Saturday, Ryan Kalish came to the plate with Beltre on at third. Having gotten his first major league hit in his first at bat, Kalish knocked a base hit into right field, giving the rookie outfielder his first big league RBI and multi-hit game.

After a pitching change, Darnell McDonald lined a double to the gap in left that brought home Kalish, scoring his first major league run. McDonald’s RBI double cut the Tigers’ lead in half, as Detroit took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Igniting the Boston offense yet again, McDonald grounded to shortstop, and legged out an infield single, diving head-first into first base to bring the tying run to the plate.

Two batters later with one away, Jed Lowrie pinch hit for Eric Patterson. Battling Phil Coke for eight pitches, fouling off three strikes, Lowrie hit a rocket of a double into the gap in left-center to put two runners in scoring position.

With first base open, Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland elected to intentionally walk Kevin Youkilis and put the winning run on for David Ortiz, who hit a ninth inning grand slam the night before, but had struck out in a bases loaded situation just two innings prior.

Ahead in the count 2-1, Ortiz drilled a 96 MPH fastball out to the left field gap, clearing the bases and delivering a dramatic and much-needed Red Sox victory.



Final score: Tigers 4, Red Sox 5
WP: Hideki Okajima (4-3)
LP: Phil Coke (6-2)

Game notes: David Ortiz’s bases-clearing double in the bottom of the ninth gave him his seventh RBI in the ninth inning in the last two games. The walk-off hit for Ortiz was his 18th with the Red Sox, including the postseason. Having collected a walk-off hit in 2010, the 2008 season marks the only season in which Ortiz went without a walk-off hit in his tenure in Boston. After being hit with a pitch on Saturday, Kevin Youkilis is just four HBP away from tying the Red Sox record of 72, held by legendary Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn.

Eye on the scoreboard: After a ninth inning blast by Robinson Cano, the Yankees held on to win 5-4 down at the Trop. The Rays' loss allowed the Red Sox to gain a game in the Wild Card standings, as Boston creeps to 5.5 behind Tampa Bay.

Tweet of the Night: @AmalieBenjamin: Ortiz clears the bases, gives the #RedSox the win. Who needs reinforcements at the deadline?

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on July 31, 2010

---

Tweet