Ortiz emerges: Sox slugger has exceeded expectations

BOSTON — At the end, as he walked off the field and out of another season, the Angels' Vladimir Guerrero could only glance at the pile of Red Sox celebrating on the infield. In the middle was David Ortiz, who had been at the center of almost everything the Red Sox did to win Game 3 and sweep their way into the ALCS.

That series will begin next week against the Yankees.

Ortiz's blast into the seats atop the Green Monster on the first pitch he saw from Jarrod Washburn in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Red Sox an 8-6 victory over the Angels. It also salvaged a game in which the Boston bullpen blew a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning.

Ortiz had helped build that lead, with a fourth-inning double that drove in a run.

When he came to the plate in the 10th, Boston manager Terry Francona turned to Kevin Millar on the bench and said, "Can he hit a home run here?"

"More than thinking, I was begging," Francona said. "It wasn't that far out of my mouth where it seemed like once it left his bat our players knew it was gone before I did. A lot of begging going on."

Ortiz was one of the prize pickups by the Red Sox two years ago after he batted .272 for Minnesota in 2002. But in Boston he has exploded, forming a fearsome 3-4 punch with Manny Ramirez.

Last year, Ortiz, who played for the Salt Lake Buzz, hit .288, and few imagined he could duplicate that this season. Instead, he did better, hitting .301 and driving in 139 runs to become a leader in a clubhouse that is loose and close-knit.

"As good a guy as he is, I'll take those 140 RBI," Francona said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Ortiz's time in Minnesota: "You saw the potential. He had a terrific year in Minnesota, but then he was kind of out there. He was looking for a job a couple years ago as far as what clubs were going to sign him. He's found a home here and he's been incredible, to say the least. I think it's very obvious, he's using the whole field. He's handling more pitches and more zones and he can drive the ball to any part of the park."

On Ortiz's two critical hits in Game 3, he proved that. The home run, off a slider that Washburn left up in the strike zone, went over the left-field wall. His double to score Johnny Damon, which gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning, was hit to right center.

But the scouting report on Ortiz, a left-handed hitter, says he is a far better hitter against righties than lefties.