BOSTON -- The ball settled into the right fielder's glove, the Cleveland Indians poured onto the diamond and the Fenway fans fell silent.
Then, slowly from the crowd rose a chant of "Pa-pi!"
Cleveland swept the Red Sox out of the postseason and sent David Ortiz into retirement on Monday night with a 4-3 victory that completed a three-game AL Division Series sweep. But even as the Indians frolicked on the field in their celebratory hats and T-shirts, Boston fans weren't ready to let their beloved Big Papi go.
"I'm glad he didn't get a hit to beat us," manager Terry Francona said after leading the Indians to just the second postseason sweep in franchise history. "I thought it was an honor to be on the field, competing against him in his last game, because he's truly one of the best. You could tell the way people were hanging around yelling his name and everything. He deserves every bit of that."
Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer , closer Cody Allen got four outs and the Indians advanced the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2007. That year, they took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against Boston before losing three in a row.
Cleveland also blew a 2-0 lead against Boston in the best-of-five round in 1999.
But this year there would be no fold.
Perhaps inspired by the Cavaliers' NBA title -- the city's first pro sports championship since 1964 -- the Indians shut down Ortiz and the most prolific offense in the league. Rookie Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run single and Josh Tomlin pitched five strong innings for the Indians, who will open the ALCS at home against Toronto on Friday.
Cleveland went 4-3 this year against the wild-card Blue Jays, who swept AL West champion Texas to reach the ALCS for the second straight year.
"Nobody in this clubhouse doubts what we're what capable of," reliever Andrew Miller said as music blared and corks popped in the visitors' clubhouse. "I think we saw in our games in Cleveland how much support we have. It's a special place to be. I think we have bigger things ahead of us, but it's not going to be any easier."
To advance, the Indians had to shut down the most prolific offense in the major leagues and weather the emotional farewell to Ortiz . The Red Sox designated hitter went 1 for 9 in the series, collecting a sacrifice fly in Game 3 before walking on four pitches in his final plate appearance .
Ortiz was lifted for a pinch runner in the eighth and left to a standing ovation.
But that wasn't enough for the crowd of 39,530 -- the largest at Fenway since at least World War II. Chanting "We're not leaving!" and "Thank you, Pa-pi!" for more than 10 minutes while the Indians celebrated their victory, the crowd finally drew the beloved slugger back onto the field.
Wearing a red warmup and a scowl on his face, Ortiz lumbered out to the mound and tipped his cap in all directions, tapping his heart. Only when the camera zoomed in on him did it become apparent that the frown was not regret over an early postseason exit: Big Papi was crying.
"Tonight when I walked to the mound, I realized that it was over. It was pretty much probably the last time as a player to walk in front of a crowd," Ortiz told reporters afterward. "And the emotion came back out again."
After two minutes, Ortiz retired to the dugout and retired for good, ending to a career that brought three World Series titles to Boston and transformed the once-futile franchise into winners.
"I'm happy, not just for me, not just how my career went down, but for the organization, the step that we took, from going from last place to win the division this year," he told reporters. "Even if things didn't end up the way we were looking for ... it's like going from bad to good, from day to night."
Making it their goal to send their beloved Big Papi out as a winner, the Red Sox managed to win the AL East -- the second time in four seasons they went from worst to first.
Boston raised fans' hopes with an 11-game winning streak in September but then lost eight of its last nine games, including the playoffs. After winning the first two games in the best-of-five AL Division Series, and then waiting an extra day because of Sunday's rainout, the Indians it took a 2-0 lead off Clay Buchholz in the fourth inning on Naquin's single.
Tomlin gave up Andrew Benintendi's Green Monster-scraping RBI double in the fifth, which gave some life to the Fenway crowd.
But with one run in, one out, one on and the fans taunting the Indians starter -- "Tom-lin! Tom-lin!" -- he struck out Sandy Leon on a pitch in the dirt and then Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to first. In the sixth, Crisp hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall to make it 4-1.
Buchholz allowed two runs and six hits in four innings, joining David Price and Rick Porcello as postseason losers.
Tomlin allowed two runs on four in five-plus innings. Miller pitched two innings , Bryan Shaw got two outs and Allen came on to face Ortiz with two out and a man on first in the eighth.
After walking on four pitches , Ortiz stood on first and waved his arms at the mostly dormant crowd. The fans rose to cheer for him and stayed there as Hanley Ramirez singled to make it 4-3.
Now representing the tying run at second, Ortiz was lifted for pinch-runner Marco Hernandez, leaving the field to a raucous cheer. But even after coming out of the game, his work wasn't done: With one foot on the top step of the dugout, he continued to cheer the team on.
Xander Bogaerts hit a hard line drive to second and Ortiz jumped onto the dirt, only to turn around and walk dejectedly back into the dugout when it was caught for the last out.
In the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. singled with two out and Dustin Pedroia drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Travis Shaw worked the count full before popping up to end it.
"I was cheering so bad," Ortiz said. "Once I got out of the game I was screaming at my team to put me back in it. Make me wear this uniform one more day. Because I wasn't ready to be over with the playoff."
Cleveland Indians
Then, slowly from the crowd rose a chant of "Pa-pi!"
Cleveland swept the Red Sox out of the postseason and sent David Ortiz into retirement on Monday night with a 4-3 victory that completed a three-game AL Division Series sweep. But even as the Indians frolicked on the field in their celebratory hats and T-shirts, Boston fans weren't ready to let their beloved Big Papi go.
"I'm glad he didn't get a hit to beat us," manager Terry Francona said after leading the Indians to just the second postseason sweep in franchise history. "I thought it was an honor to be on the field, competing against him in his last game, because he's truly one of the best. You could tell the way people were hanging around yelling his name and everything. He deserves every bit of that."
Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer , closer Cody Allen got four outs and the Indians advanced the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2007. That year, they took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against Boston before losing three in a row.
Cleveland also blew a 2-0 lead against Boston in the best-of-five round in 1999.
But this year there would be no fold.
Perhaps inspired by the Cavaliers' NBA title -- the city's first pro sports championship since 1964 -- the Indians shut down Ortiz and the most prolific offense in the league. Rookie Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run single and Josh Tomlin pitched five strong innings for the Indians, who will open the ALCS at home against Toronto on Friday.
Cleveland went 4-3 this year against the wild-card Blue Jays, who swept AL West champion Texas to reach the ALCS for the second straight year.
"Nobody in this clubhouse doubts what we're what capable of," reliever Andrew Miller said as music blared and corks popped in the visitors' clubhouse. "I think we saw in our games in Cleveland how much support we have. It's a special place to be. I think we have bigger things ahead of us, but it's not going to be any easier."
To advance, the Indians had to shut down the most prolific offense in the major leagues and weather the emotional farewell to Ortiz . The Red Sox designated hitter went 1 for 9 in the series, collecting a sacrifice fly in Game 3 before walking on four pitches in his final plate appearance .
Ortiz was lifted for a pinch runner in the eighth and left to a standing ovation.
But that wasn't enough for the crowd of 39,530 -- the largest at Fenway since at least World War II. Chanting "We're not leaving!" and "Thank you, Pa-pi!" for more than 10 minutes while the Indians celebrated their victory, the crowd finally drew the beloved slugger back onto the field.
Wearing a red warmup and a scowl on his face, Ortiz lumbered out to the mound and tipped his cap in all directions, tapping his heart. Only when the camera zoomed in on him did it become apparent that the frown was not regret over an early postseason exit: Big Papi was crying.
"Tonight when I walked to the mound, I realized that it was over. It was pretty much probably the last time as a player to walk in front of a crowd," Ortiz told reporters afterward. "And the emotion came back out again."
After two minutes, Ortiz retired to the dugout and retired for good, ending to a career that brought three World Series titles to Boston and transformed the once-futile franchise into winners.
"I'm happy, not just for me, not just how my career went down, but for the organization, the step that we took, from going from last place to win the division this year," he told reporters. "Even if things didn't end up the way we were looking for ... it's like going from bad to good, from day to night."
Making it their goal to send their beloved Big Papi out as a winner, the Red Sox managed to win the AL East -- the second time in four seasons they went from worst to first.
Boston raised fans' hopes with an 11-game winning streak in September but then lost eight of its last nine games, including the playoffs. After winning the first two games in the best-of-five AL Division Series, and then waiting an extra day because of Sunday's rainout, the Indians it took a 2-0 lead off Clay Buchholz in the fourth inning on Naquin's single.
Tomlin gave up Andrew Benintendi's Green Monster-scraping RBI double in the fifth, which gave some life to the Fenway crowd.
But with one run in, one out, one on and the fans taunting the Indians starter -- "Tom-lin! Tom-lin!" -- he struck out Sandy Leon on a pitch in the dirt and then Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out to first. In the sixth, Crisp hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall to make it 4-1.
Buchholz allowed two runs and six hits in four innings, joining David Price and Rick Porcello as postseason losers.
Tomlin allowed two runs on four in five-plus innings. Miller pitched two innings , Bryan Shaw got two outs and Allen came on to face Ortiz with two out and a man on first in the eighth.
After walking on four pitches , Ortiz stood on first and waved his arms at the mostly dormant crowd. The fans rose to cheer for him and stayed there as Hanley Ramirez singled to make it 4-3.
Now representing the tying run at second, Ortiz was lifted for pinch-runner Marco Hernandez, leaving the field to a raucous cheer. But even after coming out of the game, his work wasn't done: With one foot on the top step of the dugout, he continued to cheer the team on.
Xander Bogaerts hit a hard line drive to second and Ortiz jumped onto the dirt, only to turn around and walk dejectedly back into the dugout when it was caught for the last out.
In the ninth, Jackie Bradley Jr. singled with two out and Dustin Pedroia drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Travis Shaw worked the count full before popping up to end it.
"I was cheering so bad," Ortiz said. "Once I got out of the game I was screaming at my team to put me back in it. Make me wear this uniform one more day. Because I wasn't ready to be over with the playoff."
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Cleveland - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Clay Buchholz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Santana reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Kipnis struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Lindor singled to center, Santana to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Napoli lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Ramírez grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Pedroia grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Holt grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Betts lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Clay Buchholz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Chisenhall singled to shallow center. | 0 | 0 |
| Crisp flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Naquin struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded into fielder's choice to third, Chisenhall out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Ortiz walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Ramírez flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Bogaerts singled to left, Ortiz to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Benintendi grounded into double play, shortstop to first, Bogaerts out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Clay Buchholz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Santana grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Kipnis struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Lindor doubled to deep left center. | 0 | 0 |
| Napoli grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| León struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Bradley Jr. struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Pedroia grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Clay Buchholz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Ramírez singled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Chisenhall walked, Ramírez to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Crisp sacrificed to pitcher, Ramírez to third, Chisenhall to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Naquin singled to right, Ramírez and Chisenhall scored. | 2 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded out to second, Naquin to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Santana struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Holt struck out looking. | 2 | 0 |
| Betts flied out to right. | 2 | 0 |
| Ortiz grounded out to first. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Drew Pomeranz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Pomeranz relieved Buchholz. | 2 | 0 |
| Kipnis struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Lindor popped out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Napoli struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Ramírez flied out to right. | 2 | 0 |
| Bogaerts singled to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Benintendi doubled to left, Bogaerts scored. | 2 | 1 |
| León struck out swinging. | 2 | 1 |
| Bradley Jr. grounded out to first. | 2 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Drew Pomeranz pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Ramírez walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Chisenhall sacrificed to second, Ramírez to second. | 2 | 1 |
| Crisp homered to left center (395 feet), Ramírez scored. | 4 | 1 |
| Davis hit for Naquin. | 4 | 1 |
| Kelly relieved Pomeranz. | 4 | 1 |
| Davis popped out to second. | 4 | 1 |
| Pérez grounded out to third. | 4 | 1 |
| 2 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Josh Tomlin pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Davis in center field. | 4 | 1 |
| Pedroia singled to left. | 4 | 1 |
| Miller relieved Tomlin. | 4 | 1 |
| Hill hit for Holt. | 4 | 1 |
| Hill struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| Betts doubled to left, Pedroia to third. | 4 | 1 |
| Ortiz hit sacrifice fly to center, Pedroia scored. | 4 | 2 |
| Ramírez struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Joe Kelly pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Hill at third base. | 4 | 2 |
| Santana grounded out to first. | 4 | 2 |
| Kipnis popped out to second. | 4 | 2 |
| Lindor struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Andrew Miller pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Bogaerts grounded out to second. | 4 | 2 |
| Young hit for Benintendi. | 4 | 2 |
| Young walked. | 4 | 2 |
| León lined out to third. | 4 | 2 |
| Bradley Jr. struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Koji Uehara pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Young in left field. | 4 | 2 |
| Uehara relieved Kelly. | 4 | 2 |
| Napoli struck out looking. | 4 | 2 |
| Ramírez flied out to right. | 4 | 2 |
| Chisenhall grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Bryan Shaw pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Shaw relieved Miller. | 4 | 2 |
| Pedroia struck out looking. | 4 | 2 |
| Shaw hit for Hill. | 4 | 2 |
| Shaw singled to right. | 4 | 2 |
| Betts grounded into fielder's choice to third, Shaw out at second. | 4 | 2 |
| Allen relieved Shaw. | 4 | 2 |
| Ortiz walked, Betts to second. | 4 | 2 |
| Ramírez singled to left center, Betts scored, Ortiz to second. | 4 | 3 |
| Hernández ran for Ortiz. | 4 | 3 |
| Martínez in center field. | 4 | 3 |
| Davis in left field. | 4 | 3 |
| Bogaerts lined out to second. | 4 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Cleveland - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Craig Kimbrel pitching for Boston | CLE | BOS |
| Shaw at third base. | 4 | 3 |
| Kimbrel relieved Uehara. | 4 | 3 |
| Martínez struck out swinging. | 4 | 3 |
| Davis struck out swinging. | 4 | 3 |
| Pérez fouled out to catcher. | 4 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Cody Allen pitching for Cleveland | CLE | BOS |
| Young flied out to left. | 4 | 3 |
| León struck out looking. | 4 | 3 |
| Bradley Jr. singled to right. | 4 | 3 |
| Pedroia walked, Bradley Jr. to second. | 4 | 3 |
| Shaw flied out to right. | 4 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Cleveland Indians
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santana DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .182 | .250 | .182 |
| Kipnis 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | .364 | .417 | .636 |
| Lindor SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .250 | .250 | .583 |
| Napoli 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | .167 | .167 | .250 |
| Ramírez 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | .500 | .583 | .600 |
| Chisenhall RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .300 | .364 | .600 |
| Crisp LF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .167 | .167 | .667 |
Martínez CF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Naquin CF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .250 | .250 | .250 |
a-Davis PH-CF-LF
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Pérez C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .222 | .364 | .556 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 160 | |||
| a-popped out to second for T Naquin in the 6th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Lindor (1, Buchholz) HR: Crisp (1, 6th inning off Pomeranz 1 on, 1 Out) RBI: Naquin 2 (2), Crisp 2 (2) S: Chisenhall, Crisp Indians RISP: 2-6 (Naquin 1-1, Napoli 0-2, Santana 0-1, Ramírez 0-1, Crisp 1-1) Team LOB: 5 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Lindor-Napoli). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Fenway Park, Boston, MA |
| Attendance | 39,530 (104.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:41 |
| Weather | 55 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 17 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Tony Randazzo, First Base - Paul Emmel, Second Base - Bill Miller, Third Base - Vic Carapazza, Left Field - Brian Knight, Right Field - Phil Cuzzi |
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