Papi goes oppy: Monster HR tops Yanks

BOSTON — David Ortiz’s torment of the Yankees only seems like it will go on forever. In reality, the slugger is set to retire at the end of this season.

But that didn’t make the Yankees feel any better on Friday night after they fell victim to the man known as Big Papi yet again in the Red Sox’s 4-2 victory.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Ortiz and other #ASGWorthy players

Ortiz went up to the plate against Dellin Betances in the eighth inning looking curveball and he got it, obliterating the first pitch over the Green Monster in left-center to snap a 2-2 tie. According to Statcast™, the two-run shot whistled off Ortiz’s bat at 105 mph and was projected to land 402 feet away from home plate.

Prior to that at-bat, Ortiz had been 0-for-7 lifetime against Betances with four strikeouts. But the slugger has a way of changing such narratives in dramatic fashion.

“It’s not a secret for anyone that Betances’ breaking ball is a secret weapon besides the 100 that he throws,” said Ortiz. “Betances is the type of pitcher, if you go looking for everything he’s got, you’re done.”

Instead, it was the Yankees who were done.

Before Ortiz came to Boston, the rivalry had been titled heavily in New York’s favor since Babe Ruth was sold from the Red Sox to the Yankees.

Ortiz changed the landscape, as Boston came back from an 0-3 deficit against New York in the 2004 American League Championship Series. His heroics against the Yankees …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com