Oops, Big Papi does it again against the shift
Every time the Devil Rays pitchers miss with their location, Boston slugger David Ortiz relocates it to the stands. He strikes twice Friday.
By MARC TOPKIN
Published August 5, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon can look at all the spray charts, study all the statistics and position his fielders in all kinds of alignments.
But until his pitchers do a better job of throwing the ball where they are supposed to against David Ortiz, it's not going to matter.
Big Papi hit a pair of solo home runs Friday to lead the battered Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Devil Rays before a cowbell-ringing crowd of 27,871 at Tropicana Field.
"It's amazing," Maddon said. "He's truly amazing. I don't know what to say. Every team has seen it. He does not miss a mistake. And he's got this propensity in the clutch that's incredible."
The Rays (45-65) used what is now their standard radical defensive shift with four outfielders against Ortiz, but that didn't stop him from hitting his major-league-leading 38th and 39th homers, and extending his RBIs total to 107 in Boston's 107th game.
"We were right there," Maddon said. "We had it surrounded. It's like the cownose rays going after a fish out there - it just disappears."
The Rays took a 1-0 lead when Damon Hollins (playing in place of still-sore Rocco Baldelli) jumped on the third pitch from Sox ace Curt Schilling and drove it into the leftfield seats.
The Rays expanded the lead to 2-0 when Carl Crawford, racking up three hits in his last game before turning 25, homered to right with two outs in the third, giving him a career-high-matching 15 for the season.
The Rays got a decent effort from rookie starter James Shields, whose list of his last five opponents reads like the AL Cy Young Award ballot - Johan Santana, Ervin Santana, Mike Mussina and Schilling.
Shields got through the Boston lineup the first time unscathed, as the Rays not only used a radical defensive shift against DH Ortiz but also against right-handed-hitting Manny Ramirez, putting three infielders between second and third base.
But there wasn't anything the Rays could do when Ortiz came up the second time as he drove a 1-and-1 pitch deep into the rightfield seats.
The Sox tied it in the sixth as Shields allowed a one-out single to Mark Loretta, was 1-and-1 on Ortiz when he threw a wild pitch and had to intentionally walk him, then fell behind Ramirez 2-and-0, threw another wild pitch and had to intentionally walk him on his 100th and final pitch.
Shawn Camp did well to allow only a sacrifice fly to Kevin Youkilis, but the score was tied. The Rays came right back and had men on second and third with no outs, but Schilling intentionally walked Dioner Navarro and then picked on B.J. Upton and Tomas Perez, striking both out and pumping his fist demonstratively as he came off the mound.
Ortiz broke the tie in the eighth, driving a 2-and-0 pitch from Seth McClung over the centerfield fence.
The Rays didn't play poorly, though they made some mistakes. Most glaring was Travis Lee's attempt to stretch an eighth-inning leadoff single into a double. More amusing was Navarro sprinting into the dugout during the fourth inning after Youkilis struck out for the second out. On the plus side, Upton made a spectacular diving stop and throw from his knees to end the eighth, and rookie shortstop Ben Zobrist picked up his first big-league hit.
As the game was being played on the field, there were reports circulating in Boston about some additional gamesmanship between the front offices.
A Boston Globe report suggested the Rays, in an effort to get back at the Red Sox for their actions during recent Julio Lugo trades talks, may try to foul up their efforts to complete a trade for Javy Lopez by claiming the player Boston is trying to get through waivers in order to send to Baltimore.
There were several media reports that as the trade deadline neared the Red Sox contacted Lugo's agent to see if Lugo would be interested in moving to second base and signing an extension. If there was contact, it would be a violation of Major League Baseball tampering rules. The Rays are aware of the reports, but absent of proof would be unable to file a complaint so, the Globe suggested, they were seeking to get back at the Red Sox in another way.
If the Rays do claim the player - reported to be either outfielder Adam Stern and infielder Alejandro Machado - it would not necessarily be an unusual practice. They frequently make claims this time of year - at least six already this week - and don't get anywhere as teams pull players back if they are claimed. All waiver transactions are confidential.