And, oh, yeah – there was a baseball game.
A very important baseball game.
Had the Red Sox lost, the sense of panic surrounding the club in what felt like its most devastating week since 2006 – yes, beating even the madness of Manny-gate one year ago at this time – may have gained irreversible momentum.
The off-field news (David Ortiz’ positive test for performance-enhancing substances, Daisuke Matsuzaka’s challenge to the Red Sox’ training regimen, the trade deadline) had been brutal. The on-field play (a post-All-Star break record of 3-8 since the All-Star break) had been worse.
The Sox took an early 1-0 lead, keyed by a rocket Ortiz hit off the Wall on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the second. But Sox starter Jon Lester was afforded no further margin, and so when the A’s pounced for four runs in the sixth and then – after the Sox rallied for two to bring the game to 4-3 – another in the seventh, the situation looked grim.
The deficit against the lowly, last-place Athletics offered grounds for a perfect storm of pessimism.
“There are certain parts of the season where you say, ‘Hey – this could take a big turn in a negative direction,’” said Lowell. “We’re still searching for that consistency. We’d only scored one run, and then they put four on the board – that’s a big uphill climb.”
But climb the Sox did, a verb appropriate given the statements of Manny Ramirez to reporters earlier in the day.
“Me and David,” said Ramirez, “we’re like two mountains. We’re going to keep doing good no matter what.”
And that is precisely what Ortiz did. He seemed very much the calm eye of the storm when he stepped into the box in the bottom of the seventh against A’s reliever Craig Breslow with two on and two out. Ortiz stepped into the box, took a slider for a ball fouled off a fastball in, took another fastball up and then, on a 2-1 pitch, unloaded on a fastball.
The missile sailed far towards right-center, clearing the Red Sox bullpen and sailing just to the right of the triangle. The ball traveled a good 420 feet, giving the Sox a 6-5 lead en route to a huge 8-5 win. (Recap.)
“That kind of changed the momentum of what this team has had in the last games,” said Varitek. “It woke up the crowd, woke up the team, because our big fella hit probably the biggest home run we’ve had so far. ”
The blast offered two key signs to the Sox. First, those who wondered whether the disclosure would sabotage Ortiz on the field had their rebuttal. Ortiz’ 14th homer of the year was his first to give the Sox a lead in the seventh inning or later since April 30, 2008, and his first to allow his team to wipe out a deficit since a two-run walkoff homer against Tampa Bay on Sept. 12, 2007.
He did not merely hit the homer. Ortiz felt loose enough that he was able to predict his shot when Breslow entered the game.
“He actually called it from the on-deck circle. I was next to him. He told me he was going to hit a home run,” said Lowell. “I told him, ‘Remember when Pedroia hit a home run off Betancourt in Game 7 (of the 2007 ALCS) and he jumped into him like a teddy bear? I want you to do that to me. He didn’t. He probably would’ve killed me. I thought that was a great moment...
"He’s always been the same upbeat and team oriented guy. That didn’t change today. He’s probably, offensively, the biggest key to our team. He’s that one bat that you definitely fear. If he gets going, our offense really seems to put up runs."
Perhaps more importantly to the Sox’ 2009 fortunes, the team showed a kind of life that had been lacking during its dreadful post-All-Star stretch. Rather than face another disheartening defeat on top of the Ortiz revelations, the team had a victory to savor as it left Fenway Park for a nine-game roadtrip.
“We found a way to claw back a few, we gave one back, but didn’t let that affect our motivation or our desire,” said Lowell. “I think today was
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