"That was such a huge, huge win for us, man," said Papelbon, who made a rare appearance with the Sox behind in the ninth inning and emerged with the victory before a crowd of 36,931, the team's 379th straight sellout but the first this season to see Ortiz hurl his helmet heavenward before crossing the plate after his winning two-run home run. "I don't think you know how big that was for us. [Curt] Schilling called it. He was next to me in the dugout.
"That was one of our biggest wins of the season, not only because it keeps the five-game lead, but for the momentum it gives us going into the weekend."
The Sox' lead remains five games over the Yankees, who play tonight in Toronto before heading to the Fens for three, including a potential Roger Clemens sighting Sunday night. The Sox have 15 games left, the Bombers 17.
"We know it will be interesting," manager Terry Francona said after the Sox rebounded from a 4-0 deficit, one night after coming back from 8-1 down. "Hope it will be a lot of fun."
Ortiz's towering fly ball in the ninth inning off closer Al Reyes caught a serendipitous wind current, spun Tampa Bay right fielder Delmon Young around, and - doink! - struck a fan standing in the front row of the grandstand.
"I don't know, man, I thought it was too high," Ortiz said of his first walkoff home run this season, coming on a night he also hit a three-run home run in the third inning to account for the balance of the Sox' offense. "That was a good pitch by my boy Reyes. That's a pitch you throw guys when you don't want them hitting it in the stands. I put a good swing on it."
Ortiz now has 31 home runs and 104 RBIs, his fifth straight season of 30 or more home runs and 100 or more RBIs. He has 16 walkoff hits for the Sox in his career (counting the postseason), including 10 home runs.
