Ortiz blasts two homers as Sox Hammer Tigers

“It was very emotional”. The Detroit offense has done a good job of carrying the team as they are averaging over one and a half home runs per game since the beginning of the month. However, the Red Sox already had an enviable logjam at that particular area of the depth chart, with Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, Yoenis Cespedes, Shane Victorino, and Daniel Nava all pushing for playing time. He’s allowed 37 earned runs over his last six starts.

Ortiz was especially touched by fellow countryman and teammate Pedro Martinez’s induction. “Without going through a major reshuffling of the bullpen”, Boston manager John Farrell said, not mentioning any specific names, “there’s going to be some opportunities for guys to come in and do the job.”If Ogando isn’t going to get some of the high-leverage opportunities he once did, that would appear to create opportunities for others”.

Farrell believes it may have sparked Ortiz. Ortiz went on to pass Rogers Hornsby and Harmon Killebrew, who each had 1,584 RBIs. “But he was fine tonight”.

Coming off a 5-1 win Saturday night, the Tigers once again failed to put together consecutive victories. Boston broke through with a run in that inning and then chased Greene with four more runs in the fifth.

The only Tigers run came in the fifth inning, when Nick Castellanos hit a long home run to center field. Rookie left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez had his start pushed back to Sunday night against Detroit. He made a heads-up play in the field, though, when he let David Ortiz’s popup to short right field drop with a man on first base in the ninth inning. Had Xander Bogaerts not got him at third trying to advance on a ground ball from Jose Iglesias, effectively moving the runner back a base, Rodriguez would have allowed the first run of the game when he bounced a throw past Mike Napoli on a Rajai Davis dribbler.

Detroit immediately regained a four-run advantage, however, as Castellanos led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo shot over the Green Monster off of Red Sox reliever Noe Ramirez, pushing the score to a final of 5-1.

Greene wound up allowing five runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

But, even with everything that has taken place this season, Sunday was all about Ortiz and he showed why he still is one of the best hitters in the game, despite what happened the first two months of the year.

– All nine starters recorded at least one hit for the Red Sox, with Ortiz and Bogaerts leading the way with four apiece.

Holt and Bogaerts opened the bottom of the fifth with sharp singles to center, the seventh and eighth hits off Greene, and Ortiz teed off on an 0-1 pitch to dead right.

Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia missed his second straight game with a hamstring problem. Miguel Cabrera went on the disabled list July 4 with a Grade 3 left calf strain.

The Red Sox added two runs off Ryan in the sixth inning, but by that point they had more than enough insurance. The Tigers continue their 10-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Monday as they desperately try and stay relevant in the American League. Since his promotion after the 2011 season, the Red Sox have won 69, 97, and 71 games in the past three years.