David Ortiz Makes Rare Start At First Base
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz did something he hadn't done in nearly a decade on Sunday.
The Sox slugger grabbed his glove and started at first base in Boston's 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday, his first non-interleague start at first since August 5, 2006. It was his first start at first at Fenway since July 16, 2005 against the New York Yankees.
First base duties for Ortiz are normally reserved for interleague play or the World Series, where the DH has played well whenever he needed to put his first baseman's mitt in action. Ortiz started over for the struggling Mike Napoli on Sunday, and ended up making some team history. He did not record a putout before Napoli replaced him in the eighth inning, a first for a Boston first baseman.
From @EliasSports: Today marked the first time in the franchise's
— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_HOF) July 6, 2015
17,867-game history that the Red Sox did not have a 1B record a putout.
Boston induced just two ground balls on Sunday, one of which Ortiz flipped to pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez for an out.
Ortiz played three games at first earlier this season during interleague series, and now has 17 innings in the field without an error under his belt.
Monday's off-day gave manager John Farrell the perfect opportunity to keep both Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez's bats in the lineup while also getting Alejandro De Aza's glove in the field. Ortiz went 0-for-3 at the plate with a walk, while Ramirez clubbed a game-winning, two-run homer in the seventh inning.
Ortiz won't likely be making many more starts at first, but if Boston is ever in a pinch, it's good to know they have a 39-year-old that can grab his glove and take over at first.
Bertrand & Keefe discuss Ortiz at first, and if he should be playing there more to give Boston more flexibility at DH: