"This week, these past few days, since I came back after I had the day off, I've been getting that feeling," Ortiz told WRKO Radio after last night's 11-3 win over the Rangers.
That feeling. Good for the Red Sox. Not so good for the opposition.
And for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who needed a bit of a bailout, it was the perfect time to connect, with the Sox trailing by a run and the bases loaded. And the perfect swing, which lifted with it the 37,902 fans packed into Fenway Park.
After the ball came down in the front row of the Monster seats in the third inning, after his teammates gave him a brief version of the silent treatment before exploding in congratulations, Ortiz seemed ready for it to happen again. He followed his opposite-field shot with a liner to left in the sixth and a ringing single to right-center to score Sean Casey in the eighth.
"As long as I've been here, we've been trying to build a good relationship between all of us," said Ortiz, who was not in the clubhouse after the game. "When somebody struggles, you've just got to let him know that there's always a next day, and give him the confidence to come through next time."
That he did. With two outs in the third, Jed Lowrie doubled, his first extra-base hit (and second hit of his big league career). That was followed by Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia walks against Luis Mendoza. Then came Ortiz.
"As much as he means to us . . . everybody's there for him," Francona said. "He's important to us. They're really pulling for him."
It was Ortiz's second home run of the season, the other coming April 2 at Oakland, and also just his second extra-base hit. That is not normal for him, nor is the .111 average with which he entered the game, nor the four RBIs, an output he doubled on one swing. It has all quite obviously been weighing on him, which prompted the day off. Since then, Ortiz started using his knees more. After all, they can handle it after offseason surgery.
After having just three hits in 12 games before his day off, Ortiz has six in the five games since.
