BOSTON (AP) -David Ortiz has been a star for Boston in postseasons past. So his lack of production was glaring in the first three games of the AL championship series against Tampa Bay.
Ortiz was hitless in his first 12 at_bats before bouncing a triple around the right-field corner in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's 13-4 loss to the Rays. When he scored on Kevin Youkilis' groundout the Red Sox still trailed 11-2, but it might have done something for the big slugger's confidence.
``The problem is everybody's focused on Papi not hitting,'' he said. ``I'm not going to change the game when they have a lead of nine or 10 runs.''
Tampa Bay won 13-4 at Fenway Park, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven playoff with its second consecutive blowout of Boston.
Ortiz is 5-for-31 this postseason with two extra-base hits and no homers. He was a .317 postseason hitter in his career before this year, but this season he missed 45 games after surgery on his left wrist and he also missed time with a sore right knee.
``I'm all right,'' he said. ``I'm dealing with my hand and stuff, but right now the situation is it's a ride-or-die situation and I don't want to put too many things in my head.''
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... AND LOOK WHO'S COMING UP: Two decades later, Kirk Gibson's game-winning homer in the 1988 World Series opener remains one of baseball's most memorable moments.
Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of Gibson's improbable shot for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley. Anyone who was at Chavez Ravine that night will never forget it, especially those who were in uniform.
``I don't have flashbacks about it. I mean, they show it every night here when we're home,'' said Dodgers pitching coach and former Athletics reliever Rick Honeycutt, who was in the visitors' bullpen when Gibson drove a 3-2 backdoor slider into the right-field pavilion after a tip from advance scout Mel Didier about what Eckersley might throw in that spot.
``You always see the swing, but people forget how long the at-bat actually was and how many balls he fouled off to get to that point. It was a devastating blow to our club,'' Honeycutt added.
Gibson, the NL MVP that season, homered in the 12th inning against Roger McDowell of the Mets to help the Dodgers win Game 4 of the NLCS at Shea Stadium, and hit a three-run shot the following day against Sid Fernandez. But Gibson injured his left knee stealing second base later in that game, then strained a ligament in his right knee during Game 7.
That, along with hamstring problems, prevented Gibson from starting the World Series opener. He spent most of the game in the clubhouse after his teammates fell behind on Jose Canseco's first-inning grand slam against rookie Tim Belcher. But something Gibson heard on the NBC telecast lit a fire under him that willed him toward the bat rack.
``I was back with him in the TV room when Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola were talking about who could possibly pinch-hit for the Dodgers in the ninth. And they said no way Gibson would because he's hurt,'' recalled World Series MVP Orel Hershiser, who is working this year's NLCS for ESPN Radio.
``That made him so mad, he asked one of the trainers to get the ice bags to numb the hamstrings to see if he could hit,'' Hershiser said. ``He sat there for half an inning, numbing the hamstrings. Then, when the inning ended and we took off the ice bags, he couldn't even bend over to put the ball on the tee. So I helped him.''
Gibson told clubhouse attendant Mitch Poole to run to the dugout and tell manager Tom Lasorda that he was able to pinch-hit. Poole instructed Hershiser to keep Gibson hidden up the tunnel until the appropriate time - which came after a walk to Mike Davis.
``If you watch the video, Gibby can barely come up the steps of the dugout,'' Hershiser said. ``But it all worked out. It's unbelievable that that much time has passed. But you look back 20 years and the memories are still there. It was one of the stranger things that have happened, one of the most unexpected things that have happened, and one of the most miraculous things once it did happen.''
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JOCKEY CLUB: Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has gone from being called a jockey by admiring manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox to one of baseball's best players by his own skipper.
The 5-foot-9 Pedroia had the AL's second-best batting average this season at .326 and tied Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for the major league lead with 213 hits.
Before Game 4 of the AL championship series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, Boston manager Terry Francona was asked if he could explain Pedroia to a person who hasn't seen him.
``I'm not sure I can explain him to people that have seen him,'' Francona said of the scrappy infielder. ``He's one of the very best players in the game. I think - as the people that are around him will tell you - he has to play with a chip on his shoulder.''
In late August, after going 8-for-8 during one stretch against the White Sox, Guillen praised Pedroia and made a joking reference to his height after walking him intentionally.
``I never thought I was going to walk a jockey,'' he said. ``Walking a guy who just came from being on top of Big Brown. Right now, he's on a roll. This guy right now is on fire. No matter what you throw up there, he's going to get it.''
Pedroia batted .172 in his first month as a full-time player with Boston in April 2007, but finished the season at .317. He was selected AL Rookie of the Year, and is a leading contender for MVP honors this season.
``His motor is always running, and I'm sure that's because he's been told from a very early age that he couldn't do things,'' Francona said. ``And he continues to prove that he can.''
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ELLSBURY SITS: Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who emerged as a rookie star in Boston's 2007 World Series victory but was hitless in the first three games of this year's AL championship series, was dropped from the lineup Tuesday night for Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
J.D. Drew was moved up in the order to leadoff, and Ellsbury was replaced in center field by Coco Crisp, who lost his job to Ellsbury midway through last year's playoffs. After moving into the lineup, Ellsbury batted .375 in six postseason games and had three doubles in Game 3 of the 2007 World Series against Colorado.
Ellsbury finished this season with an 18-game hitting streak, and he had six hits in the first three games of the first-round playoff series against the Angels. But he's 0-for-18 since, including 0-for-14 in the ALCS.
The Rays also made a lineup switch, putting Fernando Perez in right field, batting eighth. Gabe Gross had spent most of the playoffs in right, though Rocco Baldelli played there Monday and hit a three-run homer to help Tampa Bay win.
