|
 Sure enough, Ortiz came through with a three-run shot inside the
right-field foul pole to erase a 2-1 deficit and give the Red Sox a
4-2 victory in the series finale against the Texas Rangers.
"I was like, 'Hey man, you never played with David right?'"
Middlebrooks said, recalling his chat with Roberts. "He's like,
'Nah.' I was like, 'Well, there's a good chance he hits a homer here
and we win.' He's like, 'This would be the first one. I just really
want to see Fenway go wild.' Bam. Right after that. Any time he's
up, you can call a homer, and 50 percent of the time, you're going
to get it right."
But Ortiz had never fared well against Rangers lefty reliever Neal
Cotts. In fact, he was 0-for-5 with five strikeouts against Cotts,
including a whiff Monday night.
Texas manager Ron Washington chalked up the outcome to Ortiz being a
"guess hitter," a characterization with which the Sox slugger didn't
agree. If anything, Ortiz said, he recalled an at-bat from Monday
night against Cotts and made an adjustment to wait for an inside
fastball rather than biting on one that tends to break away from
him.
"You've got to do your homework," Ortiz said. "Come on."
NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 4-5
STREAK: Won one
NEXT: Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 0-0, 12.46 ERA) at Yankees (Michael
Pineda, 0-1, 1.50 ERA)
PLAYER NOTES:
-
LHP Craig Breslow was activated from the 15-day disabled list
Wednesday. Breslow, who was suffering from a left shoulder strain,
threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in three rehab appearances for
Triple-A Pawtucket. Breslow was a key component of Boston's bullpen
last season, going 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 61 games.
-
RHP Brandon Workman was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on
Wednesday to make room for left-handed reliever Craig Breslow, who
came off the 15-day disabled list. Workman made three appearances
for the Red Sox this season, most recently Tuesday, when he allowed
one run and two hits in four innings of relief against Milwaukee. He
has a 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 innings.
-
CF Jackie Bradley Jr. is taking advantage of his playing time.
With RF Shane Victorino on the DL, Bradley Jr. is batting .429
(6-for-14) with two doubles, four RBIs, three runs and three walks
over his last four games, and is hitting .400 on the season. He
matched his career high Wednesday by drawing three walks. The only
other time he accomplished that was in his MLB debut on April 1,
2013 against the Yankees.
-
RHP Jake Peavy remained undefeated at Fenway Park on Wednesday,
but once again failed to pick up the win. After taking a no-decision
in Boston's home opener Friday, Peavy gave up one run and three hits
through 6 2/3 innings against the Rangers, striking out eight and
walking four. He cruised through six innings, though, allowing only
two hits, including LF Shin-Soo Choo's double on the first pitch of
the game. At one point, he struck out seven of 10 batters. But Mitch
Moreland homered leading off the seventh to tie the game and take
the win out of Peavy's hands.
-
DH David Ortiz did it again. Big Papi added yet another chapter to
his storied career Wednesday, belting a three-run homer off Texas
reliever Neal Cotts in the eighth inning that powered the Red Sox to
a much-needed 4-2 win over the Rangers. It was his second homer of
the season and 24th career go-ahead shot in the eighth inning or
later. Cotts had fanned Ortiz in all five of their previous
matchups, including Tuesday night. This time, Ortiz finally got the
better of him. "He's a guy that his ball moves hard away late,
against lefties especially," Ortiz explained. "But that at-bat I had
(against) him the other night helped me to make some adjustments
today, and it worked." Added Boston LF Jonny Gomes: "It seems like
we're just trying to win a ballgame and he's adding to his Hall of
Fame resume. He's a heck of a player, heck of a clutch player."
-
RHP Clay Buchholz is hoping for a better start at Yankee Stadium
than he had at Fenway Park on Saturday. Buchholz gave up six runs
and a career-high 13 hits in only 4 1/3 innings against Milwaukee in
his first start of the season. Now the fifth starter in Boston's
rotation, Buchholz is 5-5 in 12 career starts against the Yankees,
with a 5.32 ERA, his second-highest against any American League
club. He also has allowed more home runs (15) against New York than
any other team in baseball.
[to top of second column] |
QUOTE TO NOTE: "You know how this ballclub is. Once we take off
hitting, get into that momentum and we keep on rolling that way. I'm
the kind of hitter that I always believe that one good at-bat gets
your momentum going, especially when things are not going that
well." — DH David Ortiz.
ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
-
LHP Craig Breslow (left shoulder soreness) was reinstated from the
disabled list April 9. He went on the 15-day disabled list
retroactive to March 21. He made rehab appearances for Triple-A
Pawtucket on April 3, 4 and 7.
-
RF Shane Victorino (strained right hamstring) went on the 15-day
disabled list retroactive to March 30. He also was suffering from
the flu in early April. He resumed agility drills and took swings in
the batting cage April 9 after being sick with the flu for nearly a
week. Victorino said he likely will need to play two or three games
in the minors before being ready to make his regular-season debut.
He isn't eligible to come off the disabled list until April 14.
-
1B/OF Mike Carp (sore back) played late in the April 5 game, but
he did not play April 6-8. He returned as a pinch hitter on April 9.
-
3B Will Middlebrooks (right calf strain) went on the 15-day
disabled list April 6, retroactive to April 5. He is expected to be
ready to be activated as soon as he is eligible.
-
RHP Steven Wright (sports hernia surgery in January 2014) went on
the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 21, and he was
transferred to the 60-day DL on April 7. He figures to be sent to
the minors when he is healthy.
ROTATION:
-
LHP Jon Lester
-
RHP John Lackey
-
LHP Felix Doubront
-
RHP Jake Peavy
-
RHP Clay Buchholz
BULLPEN:
-
RHP Koji Uehara (closer)
-
LHP Craig Breslow
-
RHP Edward Mujica
-
RHP Junichi Tazawa
-
LHP Andrew Miller
-
RHP Burke Badenhop
-
LHP Chris Capuano
CATCHERS:
-
A.J. Pierzynski
-
David Ross
INFIELDERS:
-
1B Mike Napoli
-
2B Dustin Pedroia
-
SS Xander Bogaerts
-
3B Jonathan Herrera
-
DH David Ortiz
-
INF/OF Mike Carp
-
INF Ryan Roberts
OUTFIELDERS:
-
LF Daniel Nava
-
CF Grady Sizemore
-
RF Jackie Bradley Jr.
-
OF Jonny Gomes
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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