According to the original plan, David Ortiz was supposed to be on the bench Saturday night.
Instead, he spent the evening circling the bases.
Ortiz hit two home runs – his 499th and his 500th – to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 10-4 victory over a Rays team that continues to try to get on a hot streak. Ortiz hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the fifth for reach his milestone.
Ortiz becomes the 27th player to reach 500. Another 10, and he’ll move into top 25 in baseball history.
For pitcher Matt Moore, it was a particularly rough way to spend an evening. He gave up eight runs and nine hits in his five innings. Moore had been effective in his previous start, but this was a flashback to his struggles earlier in the season.
Ortiz’ second homer made the score 8-0 in favor of Boston. John Jaso hit a two-run homer to put the Rays on the board. Richie Shaffer hit a home run in the eighth.
Drew Smyly pitches for the Rays today against Boston’s Rich Hill.
