Same Old New Thrill

David Ortiz is a force of nature. There’s no two ways about it.

Boston’s premiere clutch hitter came through once again for the Sox, crushing a 3-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for the come-from-behind victory. As Ortiz strolled to the plate with two on and one out, facing a 2-run deficit, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind what was about to happen.

Its just incredible to watch this man pick up a bat. He seems to feed off those pressure situations, derives great strength and poise in those moments where the weight of the Red Sox Nation weighs upon his shoulders. And he never seems to buckle.

Mr. Clutch. Mr Automatic. Mr. Greatest Damn Pressure Hitter in History. Call him whatever you want, the names all mean the same thing:

Big Papi is the man.

Going into last night’s matchup, it was looking dire for the Sox. Clinging to a half-game lead over the Yankees going into last night’s game against the Cleveland Indians, a victory would put them an even one game up on their division rivals. With the Yankees picking up the coveted Bobby Abreu from the Phillies, along with teammate pitcher Cory Lidle, New York initially seems to have beefed up their weak spots and are ready to rumble into the finish line of the season. At this point, every game counts.

But heading into the ninth inning at Fenway last night, the Sox faced a 2-run deficit, and it looked like sole possession of first place might slip away.

David Wells, making his first start since getting drilled in his knee by a liner that put him on the DL, did his best to keep the Sox in the game, and almost escaped the 5th inning with the lead. But he hung a curveball to Casey Blake with two on and two out, and Blake deposited it in the Monster seats, his second homer off Wells, to give the Indians an 8-6 lead.

The Sox battled all night at the plate to keep it close. Manny Ramirez got the ball rolling with a two-run shot in the first inning off Indians starter Paul Byrd.

Wily Mo Pena, getting the start in right after Trot Nixon strained a bicep in Sunday’s game, made the most of his return to the lineup, falling a double shy of hitting for the cycle. His solo shot to lead off the fourth inning helped put to rest worries of him losing power after surgery on a bone in this wrist. Pena belted an absolute bomb to left on the first pitch he saw that was easily headed for the Mass Pike.

And still the Sox found themselves down by 2 heading into the final frame. And that’s usually where the magic starts for the Sox this season.

Alex Cora led off with a single to left, and Kevin Youkilis followed with a gutsy 7-pitch walk. Falling behind 1-2 to the Indians rookie closer Fausto Carmona (they traded their regular mop-up man Bob Wickman to the Braves), Youkilis didn’t chase two pitches in the dirt and took the free pass, giving the Sox two on with no outs.

Mark Loretta failed to advance the runners by popping out to the shortstop, but that didn’t diminish the spirits of the fans in Fenway. Not with Ortiz coming to bat.

Its weird the feeling of calm that comes over Sox fans when Ortiz is batting in a clutch situation. It used to be dread and resignation to a loss, especially down by a couple in the last at-bat. But these days, with Papi on the team, the fans just seem to know that Ortiz will come through with the big hit, a long bomb, the game winner.

And why shouldn’t we expect it? In his three seasons with the Sox, Ortiz has delivered 15 walkoff hits, 9 of them home runs. He’s had five already this season.

Last night was no exception. Big Papi delivered yet again.

And the Nation rejoiced from atop his shoulders.