BOSTON — With a runner on second base and two outs in the 11th inning Saturday, the Houston Astros opted to pitch to David Ortiz.
Not a good idea. Ortiz, who already had a home run and a game-tying triple in the game, doubled in Xander Bogaerts to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-5 walk-off victory before 37,430 at Fenway Park.
Bogaerts, who singled to keep the inning alive, went to second on a wild pitch, making the count 2-2 to Ortiz.
First base was open but Houston decided that Michael Feliz (1-1) should keep pitching to Ortiz – carefully.
“Two strikes,” said Manager A.J. Hinch, explaining why he didn’t intentionally walk Ortiz. Hinch did mention the desire for Feliz to use waste pitches.
“But he mis-executed a pitch.”
Feliz delivered a belt-high change-up that Ortiz crushed into the center-field triangle.
“If you’d like to replay it, I’d happily walk him, sure,” Hinch said.
The double capped a rally from a 5-2 deficit created by the Red Sox starting pitcher, Clay Buchholz.
The Red Sox gave Buchholz a 2-1 lead after the first inning, but Buchholz loaded the bases in the top of the second, and George Springer crushed a 3-1 cut fastball over the Green Monster for a grand slam.
Carlos Correa had hit a homer to left in the first inning.
Buchholz lasted six innings, allowing seven hits, three walks and five runs.
It was his fifth start allowing five runs, and his ERA rose to 6.11
“Really frustrating,” Buchholz said. “You play to win and we won the game, so that cures a little bit of it. But it’s got me scratching my head.
“The last four innings I didn’t give up much of anything, but the damage was already done.”
With the Red Sox having an off day this week and with Eduardo Rodriguez close to coming off the disabled list (he pitched 52/3 innings in Pawtucket on Saturday, allowing two earned runs), there was some thought that Boston might skip Buchholz’s turn in the rotation.
“Everything points to him making his next start,” Manager John Farrell said. “I thought he had better stuff today than the last time out. He was able to give us six innings and kind of stabilized the game.”
Farrell pointed out a one-out walk to Houston’s No. 8 hitter, Jason Castro (a .214 hitter) in the second inning as the key to Buchholz’s downfall.
Even with two outs, Buchholz had to face Houston’s dangerous top of the order, walking Jose Altuve to load the bases before Springer’s slam.
Buchholz and the bullpen held Houston scoreless from there. Ortiz’s homer and Mookie Betts’ RBI fielder’s choice closed to 5-4.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Bogaerts on first, Ortiz tripled to left-center, tying the game.
Koji Uehara (2-1) pitched the 11th for the win.
NOTES: Jackie Bradley Jr. singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 20 games.
Bradley moved from the bottom of the lineup to the second spot in place of Dustin Pedroia, who was taking a scheduled day off. … Pedroia did pinch hit in the eighth inning and grounded out. … Ortiz’s home run was the 513th of his career, passing Ernie Banks and Eddie Matthews for 22nd place on the all-time list.
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