What can be said about last night’s stirring come-from-behind win by the Boston Red Sox?
Ask Big Papi.
After being shut out — and nearly no-hit — in game one of the ALCS, the Red Sox were again on the ropes on Sunday night. They were being held without a hit into the sixth inning by Max Scherzer, and the Detroit Tigers lead had grown to a seeming impossible 5-0. The Red Sox were staring at a 2-0 deficit, and three solid “if necessary” games at the back end of this series.
But the Red Sox didn’t quit, and we all know the results by now.
The biggest hit of the night, if not the actual game-winner by Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth, was definitely the grand slam hit by “Big Papi” David Ortiz in the eighth inning to tie the game.
We all remember how Big Papi hit the big home run back in 2004 that helped to stun the Yankees and finally end Boston’s championship drought. He’s already won two rings with the Red Sox, and that all by itself will get him into Cooperstown one day down the road.
But there was a moment earlier this year when Big Papi spoke. It was in the wake of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, and the subsequent search for the responsible parties. The city pulled together to get their man, and in the afterglow of that remarkable turn of events, they celebrated at Fenway Park.
David Ortiz addressed the crowd that day, with a proud defiance that will probably be a part of baseball lore for decades to come. The link to his speech is here, and in case you didn’t hear it before — and even if you did — his words have an added resonance in the wake of last night’s improbable comeback.
The series now shifts back to Detroit, with the Tigers still holding home-field advantage by virtue of their win in game one. But the Red Sox now have the momentum, and a city that’s known too much grief and tension this year now gets to celebrate anew.
#BostonStrong, indeed.
