Ortiz dropped a bunt single ahead of Manny Ramírez's 31st home run in the eighth, when the Sox drew to within a run, only to see the Devil Rays answer against Hansen, who has been scored upon in five of 11 appearances since the All-Star break. Josh Paul hit a two-run double over Gabe Kapler's head in right, took third on the throw home, and scored on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.
``It would have been a lot more interesting if we could have held them down in the eighth," Sox manager Terry Francona said.
Ortiz then delivered an RBI single off Brian Meadows after Mark Loretta's double in the ninth, before another hit by Ramírez and a walk to Kevin Youkilis loaded the bases. After Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon made a trip to the mound, Lopez swung at the first pitch and scorched a grounder right at rookie shortstop Zobrist, who had no trouble turning two to end the game.
``It's never comfortable," Maddon said, about having to get through Ramírez and Ortiz in each of Boston's last two at-bats. ``I don't care who you've got out on the mound. Those guys. They're freaks. They are. If you throw a strike and they can reach it, they hit it hard.
``Ruth and Gehrig. Batman and Robin. I don't know. They're like the best combo in the history, maybe, of the world. Peanut butter and jelly. Chocolate and red wine. They're the best. They're the best I've ever seen. We got the ground ball to short, my goodness. It was uneasy. Very uneasy."
Almost as uneasy as Ortiz was at first base. He acknowledged he wasn't enchanted about playing the field for the first time since two straight starts in Seattle last month, when Ramírez served as designated hitter to give his aching knee a break.
``I'm an employee here, I do what they tell me, you know what I'm saying," Ortiz said. ``We're going through a situation here with guys injured, so I do what they tell me to do."
