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DAVID ORTIZ |
A LOST YEAR WITH
BOBBY V ...
The Red Sox overpower Tampa
Bay as
David Ortiz goes 4 for 5 with 5 RBIs
April 14, 2012 ... The
Red Sox continued to fight back against their diminished
expectations, hitting five home runs and again pounding the Rays,
this time 13-5 before a crowd of 38,024 that enjoyed a sunny day and
plenty of big swings.
Down by four
runs early, the Sox hit five home runs in their comeback and three more than
they had in their first seven games. They have outscored the Rays, 25-7, in the
last two days. Mike Aviles, batting leadoff in place of Ellsbury, was 3 for 5
and scored two runs. His solo home run in the seventh inning gave the Sox their
first lead. David Ortiz was 4 for 5 with five RBIs. He had a two-run homer in
the fifth to tie the game after the Sox were down, 5-2, then added a three-run
double to the opposite field in the eighth.
Clay
Buchholz (1-0) went seven innings for the victory. He, Franklin Morales, and
Alfredo Aceves did not allow a run over the final six innings and retired the
final 14 batters in a row. It was an unlikely victory for Buchholz, who gave up
four runs in the first inning and had thrown 43 pitches before the second inning
was finished. But he regained the feel for his off-speed and breaking pitches
and breezed through five more innings, allowing one run.
Buchholz
pitched poorly in his first start of the season, giving up seven runs in four
innings against the Tigers. It was more of the same in the first inning against
the Rays. After Carlos Pena's RBI double, Buchholz got two outs then walked Ben
Zobrist on four pitches. Luke Scott, who has made a habit out of trashing Red
Sox fans and Fenway Park, was booed as he came to the plate and responded with a
three-run homer to right field.
The rally
was powered by home runs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 1 for 13 on the season, pounded
a changeup from Jeremy Hellickson off the black tarp over the bleacher seats in
center field to account for two runs. Dustin Pedroia had a rocket to left field
in the third inning, his second of the year. Ortiz tied the game at 5 in the
fifth with a blast into the Red Sox bullpen after Youkilis had singled. Aviles
gave the Sox their first lead when he drove a slider from Burke Badenhop (0-1)
just off the top of the Green Monster. The ball popped straight up and over the
wall. The fans signaled it was a home run before third base umpire Tony Randazzo
made the same call. Ross and Ortiz then padded the lead.
It was the
second consecutive win for the Sox, an unpretentious streak to be sure. But they
had not won two straight since sweeping a doubleheader from Oakland last August
27th. |
