Big Bang Series
The exhilaration of yesterday’s triumphant trip to the White House carried over into tonight’s game. David Ortiz has 40,000 retweets of his selfie with the President of the United States, surpassing the Instagram “likes” of Bill Nye and and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s snapshot with the leader of the free world. Ortiz was 0-for-7 against Ubaldo Jimenez until the third frame.
What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014Ortiz clubbed his first home run of the season with Dustin Pedroia on base to give his team a 2-0 lead. Baltimore battled back with none other than Nelson Cruz, who homered in his second consecutive game. This time his four-bagger cleared the right field wall in the fourth inning with Chris Davis on base to tie the game 2-2.
Mike Napoli was singled out by President Obama as the only athlete on his Council of Beards. That prestigious appointment proved motivating. Napoli untangled the tied game in the fifth inning with a blast to dead center, driving in Daniel Nava. Napoli tacked on two more runs in the seventh.
Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco were the Bash Brothers. I propose that Ortiz and Napoli be called BICEP2. What sluggers wouldn’t want to be associated with energy so powerful its traces are still detectable 13 billion years later? Go, cosmic microwave background supporting the theory of inflation and pointing towards the possibility of the multiverse!
The uptick in offensive production was supported by solid play on the other side of the ball. Dustin Pedroia’s nagging injuries seem to have finally healed, at least until the next time he plays himself to the bone. The second baseman went 4-for-5 and made a stunning stop on J.J. Hardy’s ground ball up the middle. The ball seemed destined to trickle into center field but Pedroia’s positioning and execution allowed him turn the final out of the second stanza.
Napoli followed his go-ahead home run with defensive gem in the bottom of the frame. Steve Lombardozzi starched the ball to right but Napoli was playing just deep enough and jumped exactly high enough to snare the sphere. I wonder if defensive statistics and advanced scouting is supporting more precise positioning?
Pitching continued to be a strong point for the Red Sox. Like Jon Lester before him, John Lackey only surrendered two runs. Boston newcomer Edward Mujica set the stage with a one-hit frame with a strikeout. Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara were so in sync they replicated Mujica’s stats.
| Game 2: April 2, 2014 | ||
 Boston Red Sox1-1 |
6 | W: Jonn Lackey (1-0) |
| HR: David Ortiz (1), Mike Napoli (1) | ||
| Baltimore Orioles 1-1 |
2 | L: Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1) |
| HR: Nelson Cruz (2) | ||
