"I did something wrong," said a contrite Ortiz. "I apologize to the fans and the umpires."
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino paid a visit to the umpires after the game, pleading for leniency when the inevitable penalty is handed down.
The Ortiz fireworks somewhat overshadowed a strong pitching performance by Pedro Martinez (6 innings, 2 runs, 8 strikeouts) and solo home runs by Nomar Garciaparra and Gabe Kapler as the Red Sox beat the Angels for the first time in four meetings this season. Four members of the Sox bullpen pitched shutout baseball over the final three innings and Keith Foulke picked up the save (No. 14) with a 1-2-3 ninth, aided by a sensational catch in left by Kapler.
Starting on eight days' rest, buoyant in the aftermath of his annual midsummer vacation in the Dominican Republic, Martinez picked up his 10th win and threw harder than he has for most of the season.
"I felt a lot better," said Martinez. "That's better than I felt in the first half. I felt like I could throw 95, easy. The few extra days off paid off."
Garciaparra staked the Sox to a 1-0 with a first-pitch, homer off Kelvim Escobar to start the second inning. It was the fifth homer of the season for Garciaparra, who was in the cleanup spot because Manny Ramirez was on the bench with tightness in his left hamstring (Ramirez pinch hit in the ninth and dumped a single into left-center).
The Sox put another run on the board in the fourth. Trot Nixon led with a pop to left field. Jose Guillen, he of the rifle right arm, ran in too far and the ball dropped 15 feet behind him. Then Jason Varitek scored Nixon with a hard single to left on a 1-and-2 pitch to make it 2-0.
Resorting to "Littleball" (and we don't mean Grady), Varitek ran on a 3-and-2 pitch to Kapler and stole his sixth base of the season after Kapler fanned. Pokey Reese snapped an 0-for-24 slump with a two-out, hard single to center, scoring Varitek for a 3-0 lead.
