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Ortiz delivers again for PawSox |
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 |
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By BRENDAN MCGAIR Sports writer PAWTUCKET – Turns out David Ortiz’s batting practice session on Friday was a harbinger of productive things to come.
The Red Sox slugger spent a few rounds driving pitches from roving instructor Victor Rodriguez to left field, as if Ortiz was simulating the Green Monster.
Ortiz admitted after his round that he merely didn’t want to take a few hacks and retreat to the air-conditioned clubhouse. He desired to use his time outdoors constructively and with a goal in mind.
“My plan was to use the whole field, so I tried to work on that during batting practice so you can use [the approach] during the game,” Ortiz admitted.
Truer words were never spoken.
As if on cue, Ortiz went the other way for his second home run in as many nights. The three-run shot came in the fourth inning in Pawtucket’s 6-1 victory over Toledo. The game was short-circuited with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning due to a nasty combo of rain/lightning.
Ortiz’s shot, which a fan with a glove dropped into the flower bed, came on a 1-1 count. The pitch, a fastball, was left on the outside corner by Toledo starter Anastacio Martinez, who spent parts of three seasons (2003-05) with Pawtucket.
“The most important thing is that my hand is feeling good,” said Ortiz. “I wanted to try and hit with power to the other field.”
Ortiz touched upon how long he’s come since struggling to perform the simplest action, i.e. holding onto the bat. “My progress has been good; I’m happy with what’s happening.”
Once again Ortiz was the main attraction at McCoy with 11,140 coming out to root him on in his quest to return to big league duty. His first turn, which was greeted with a thunderous applause, saw him gaze at two pitches before popping out to shortstop.
Martinez walked Ortiz in his next turn, which came in the fourth. Johnson didn’t want Ortiz, who has been hobbled by knee troubles in recent seasons, exerting himself on the base paths. The Pawtucket skipper chose to have Ortiz proceed 90 feet at a time.
Back-to-back singles from Chris Carter and Dusty Brown moved Ortiz up to third before he jogged home on Jeff Corsaletti’s two-run double. “That’s part of the game, you take what you are given” said Ortiz.
Ortiz stepped to the dish with runners in scoring position and one down in the fifth. Had these been normal circumstances, Ortiz would have likely been issued an intentional walk with first unoccupied.
Toledo manager Larry Parish obviously knows why Ortiz is here, which is why he decided to let Martinez pitch. The end result may not have been to Toledo’a liking, but Parish deserves credit for not taking away valuable plate appearances from Ortiz.
“That’s class. I don’t know too many people who would have done that,” said Johnson. “It would have real easy to put David on, but that was impressive.”
Just as he did in his final turn Thursday, Ortiz drew a walk. The rain picked up just as he stepped on first. The grounds crew had trouble placing the tarp on, leaving most of the left side of the infield uncovered.
When the rain died down, both managers met near the third base box to inspect the damage. The official tally was a 45-minute rain delay.
“I don’t like thunderstorms,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz’s long ball prowess overshadowed what was another superb outing from a PawSox starter. After getting plagued with bad luck earlier in the season, Devern Hansack has been able to turn his season around lately. The native of Nicaragua worked seven innings, allowing just a solo home run with eight strikeouts and zero walks.
Hansack has a 1.62 ERA in his last six starts. “Easily his best outing of the year,” praised Johnson. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 July 2008 )
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