The difference between yesterday and May 28, 1998 was that Brent Mayne was due up after Buck Showalter, then managing the Diamondbacks, walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of ninth in an 8-6 game.
Mayne lined to right on a 3-2 count and Arizona won.
Showalter looked like a genius.
In yesterday's first game, David Ortiz -- another power-hitting lefthander -- came up with runners at first and second and Manny Ramírez on-deck.
Showalter, the Rangers' manager, elected to have righthanded closer Akinori Otsuka pitch to Ortiz rather than load the bases for Ramírez, who had homered in the second inning and has been red hot (.339 with 9 homers, 22 RBIs in his last 17 games).
Otsuka got ahead, 0 and 2. The decision looked good until Ortiz sent Fenway into a frenzy, striking a blast into the right-field bleachers for a walk off 5-4 victory.
Showalter didn't look as smart.
``No disrespect to Barry Bonds or whoever hits behind him, but when you have Manny Ramírez hitting behind Big Papi, that's someone really special right there. It's hard to pitch to Manny any time in that situation," said Sox right fielder Trot Nixon, who came off the bench to pinch hit for Alex Gonzalez and got the rally started with a single up the middle.
There was far less intrigue in the nightcap as David Pauley allowed five runs in the first two innings, setting the stage for 13-6 loss to former friend John Wasdin.
The end result of the split is a 1-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
Sox owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner were so buoyed by Ortiz's heroics they stopped by to revel in the slugger's postgame press conference while the hero munched on a tuna melt.
Ortiz claimed he called the home run and that Ramírez had predicted Ortiz would hit one later in the game after Ramírez's second-inning solo shot, his second in as many games.
``I've been fighting all year to get comfortable at the plate," said Ortiz. ``But this game is so crazy that when you think you have it, you've got nothing."
After falling behind in the count, Ortiz thought, ``The way things are going right now I really wanted to put a good swing on the ball. Make sure I didn't hit the ball right at somebody. That's what's been happening to me a lot this year . . . the only ball they can't take away from me is the one I hit out of the park I guess. I've been trying to fight back. We have a long way to go and if I shut it down just because this is happening right now . . . my team needs me. If I miss one I just come and try to get the next one."
