BALTIMORE -- The last thing David Ortiz needs is to have his struggles at the plate laid bare on a national TV broadcast.
Just last week, Ortiz was parrying questions about whether he was “washed up,” answering with a civility that he acknowledged later took a concerted effort.
But with a chance to deflect the narrative away from Ortiz after three straight wins over the weekend and double-digit hits in each of their last four games, the Red Sox on Tuesday night were shut out 1-0 on five hits by Baltimore. That’s the 23rd time this season the Sox have been held to two runs or fewer, which, of course, has a profound impact on the team's record. The Sox are 5-18 in those games headed into ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball broadcast.
And while Tuesday night reflected a collective failure -- Sox batters were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and still rank 28th in baseball in those circumstances -- Ortiz, because of his eminence, becomes the object of the most scrutiny.
Ortiz had a ground-ball base hit in his first at-bat Tuesday night against Orioles right-handed starter Miguel Gonzalez, then lined out to left-center with two runners on to end the third. He rolled out to second against Orioles left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland leading off the sixth and in the eighth inning, again with two runners on, he took a called third strike from Zach Britton, the Orioles’ left-handed closer, who then whiffed Mike Napoli to preserve Baltimore’s advantage.
Ortiz had previously enjoyed success against both McFarland (2-for-4) and Britton (5-for-13, including a home run), but his labors against left-handers this season have reaped few rewards. While he has put up numbers against right-handed pitchers consistent with his past performance (.278 batting average, .387 on-base percentage, .879 OPS), he is only 8-for-70 (.114) against lefties this season, which has skewed his overall numbers to an unrecognizable place: a .219/.297/.372/.670 slash line.
The Orioles on Wednesday night are starting a left-hander, Wei-Yin Chen. Ortiz raked him for six hits in 11 at-bats last season, but is hitless in five at-bats this season. The Sox opted to sit him out, the second time they've done so against a southpaw starter in the past five games. Last Friday, with Oakland lefty Scott Kazmir opposing the Sox, Farrell elected to sit Ortiz and use Hanley Ramirez as DH. Ramirez will DH again Wednesday despite fouling a ball off his left knee Tuesday.
Lately, it hasn’t mattered which hand was pitching to Ortiz. He has not hit a home run in his last 17 games, the second time this season he has gone that long without putting a ball in the seats. By comparison, Giancarlo Stanton and Albert Pujols have homered nine times apiece in that span, and 252 hitters have homered at least once since Ortiz last went deep on May 19.
Overall, since that date, Ortiz is batting just .169 (11-for-65) in 17 games, with five RBIs. The player who has set the standard for designated hitters for the better part of a decade enters play Wednesday night ranked last among all qualified DHs in batting average, RBIs and runs.
“I think guys are going to attack him a little more," manager John Farrell said Tuesday, when asked if he had detected a difference in how pitchers are approaching Ortiz. “We’ve also seen some at-bats, and this isn’t just David, where you’re not getting into hitters’ counts too often. But yeah, I think guys like to attack him more and get him into swing mode, instead of looking at pitches and trying to be a little bit more in a defined strike zone."
It’s startling to hear Ortiz described as the hitter teams are attacking, when in the past, the approach has been to avoid Ortiz whenever possible. Is that a byproduct of his not getting hot to date?
“It certainly has something to do with it," Farrell said. “You start to look at our lineup --it’s no different than us taking a look at the Orioles’ lineup. Who do you attack based on what they’re doing currently? That has a lot to do it."
Ortiz dressed and left quickly after Tuesday night’s loss, but has consistently rebuffed any talk that at 39, he is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
"What can I tell you, man?" Ortiz said in response to last week’s “washed up” question. "A lot of people looked at me like that [six] years ago, and here I am still. I don't have no timetable for [retirement]. I don't think anybody has it, either.
“If it happens, who cares, man, I'm just another player that comes in and comes out. Everybody's time is up at some point. I don't think that's my problem, though. I'll keep on trying like I normally do."