LAST NIGHT BIG PAPI HIT IS 17TH POSTSEASON HOME RUN! BOSTON -- David Ortiz stood in front of his locker and took his time getting dressed. He slipped a braided silver necklace around his neck and matching bracelets around his thick wrists, adding a high-tech watch to the ensemble. Finally, he stuffed two cell phones into the pockets of his grey slacks. World Series • Gm 1: BOS 8, STL 1 • Gm 2: STL 4, BOS 2 • Gm 3: Sat., 7:30 p.m. ET • Gm 4: Sun., 8 p.m. ET • Gm 5: Mon., 7:30 p.m. ET • Gm 6*: Wed., 7:30 p.m. ET • Gm 7*: 10/31, 7:30 p.m. ET *- If necessary Watch every game on FOX All the while, Ortiz chatted it up in Spanish to members of the Latin media. Ortizs laughter belied the fact that the Red Sox wasted his two-run, sixth-inning homer and a one-run lead, losing a sloppily played Game 2 of the World Series, 4-2, to the Cardinals on Thursday night at Fenway Park. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 -- all even Steven Ortiz said -- as it shifts to Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the next three games beginning Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET air time/8:07 p.m. ET first pitch on FOX. The Dominican native is Senor Octubre and Big Papi lives for this. This is what you get prepared for all year round, Ortiz said as he moved from one end of the Red Sox clubhouse to the other and an easy escape out the door. I dont play for July. I play for this right now. Does he ever. The homer over the Green Monster off Cards rookie starter and winner Michael Wacha was the 17th for Ortiz in 78 postseason games, all of them coming in the 69 hes played since he joined the Red Sox in 2003 as arguably the top free-agent signing of all time. YARD WORK Most career postseason home runs Rank Player PA HR 1. Manny Ramirez 493 29 2. Bernie Williams 545 22 3. Derek Jeter 734 20 4. Mickey Mantle 273 18 Reggie Jackson 318 18 Albert Pujols 321 18 7. David Ortiz 339 17 Jim Thome 267 17 9. Carlos Beltran 203 16 10. Babe Ruth 167 15 11 Nelson Cruz 137 14 Jayson Werth 206 14 David Justice 471 14 Ortiz has hit three of those 17 in the World Series, including two on successive nights in this Fall Classic. His two-run shot in Wednesday nights Game 1 contributed add-on runs to Bostons 8-2 win. And he could have had a grand slam had St. Louis right fielder Carlos Beltran not reached over the fence into the bullpen to make a great catch. Ortiz had to settle for a sacrifice fly instead, giving him five RBIs in the two games and 59 in the postseason overall. Hes among the most prolific designated hitters of all time in the playoffs, but with the scene shifting to the National League park, both teams will lose the use of the DH. Its likely that in Game 3 hell be at first base at this point, just taking a quick look at it, Red Sox manager John Farrell said after Thursdays game. How we go from there, well take it day to day. Were going to lose one of the mid-order bats and thats understood going in. But still, Davids in a pretty good place right now offensively. No kidding. The Red Sox will have to sit either Ortiz or regular first baseman Mike Napoli, but its probable Ortiz wont miss any of them. Hes the mainstay and the only player on the current roster to play in all 10 of the clubs World Series games since 2004. The Red Sox swept St. Louis in 04 and Colorado in 07 and had a nine-game World Series winning streak snapped by the Cards on Thursday night. Ortiz did everything he could to prevent that, even adding a walk and a single. Hes 4-for-6 in the two games with the sac fly and a walk. Farrell said beforehand that theres not much he can do to get both Ortiz and Napoli in the three games. The outside view might be to put Mike Napoli behind the plate, but we wouldnt do that, Farrell said. One or the other is going to sit, unfortunately. Napoli has a degenerative hip problem and hasnt caught a game for the Red Sox all year in his first season in Boston. Ortiz is a .281 playoff hitter with a .388 on-base percentage and .929 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). To that end, he said hed make sure hed bring his glove with him on the plane to St. Louis. I got it, I got it, Ortiz said with a laugh. Hes played 25 games at first base -- all Interleague affairs on the road -- during the six years since the 2007 World Series. Hey, you know, Im going to do whatever my manager tells me to do, he said. Ill just go out there. Wish me good luck. HOT PAPI Players to hit home runs in first two games of a World Series Player Team Opp. Year David Ortiz Bos. Stl. 2013 Craig Monroe Det. Stl. 2006 Barry Bonds * S.F. Ana. 2002 Reggie Sanders S.F. Ana. 2002 Ted Simmons Mil. Stl. 1982 Boog Powell Bal. Cin. 1970 Hank Bauer * NYY Mil. 1958 Dusty Rhodes NYG Cle. 1954 Mickey Cochrane Phi. (AL) Stl. 1930 Jimmie Foxx Phi. (AL) Chc. 1929 * -- Hit a homer in Game 3 as well Fat chance. Ortiz, at 37, is obviously the same big-game player. Before the game, the Red Sox brought back members of the 2004 team that won the first World Series title for Boston in 86 years. Pedro Martinez, Trot Nixon and Derek Lowe were in attendance. Hours before the game, Lowe was found outside the ballpark on Yawkey Way, signing autographs and taking pictures with beaming fans. The point is, those guys are all retired and Ortiz is out there carrying on. The thing is when I got here I was a baby and they were older, Ortiz said. Ortiz, of course, is no baby now. He seemed undaunted by the prospects of a long series and the loss in Game 2. After all, Ortiz just had another big night in a series of big postseason nights. Weve got to go out on Saturday night and play better, Ortiz said sagely. Asked what the key is to having so much success this time of year, Ortiz shrugged and radiated that Big Papi smile. My key? Ill let you know when the World Series is over, he said. Im out. And with that, he finally bolted out the clubhouse door, bling and all. Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseb
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 15:12:19 +0000
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