David Ortiz talks about Boston Red Sox as team crashes to a 1-9 defeat to Tampa Bay Rays
The Boston Red Sox were not in the liveliest of moods when they walked out of their latest game on Sunday, September 11 with a 1-9 defeat at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
The club was hoping to prevent a series sweep from the Tampa Bay Rays but they crashed out as B. J. Upton produced a grand slam and James Shields pummelled the Boston hitting line up.
David Ortiz, the designated hitter for the Red Sox, talked about his team’s woes. The player responded truthfully when he was asked about being a part of a team that does not panic.
"No, at this point you panic," said David Ortiz. "You've got to panic at this point. But you're not going to do anything panicking but playing better. Of course you're freaked out. You go on this road trip 1-6, it's not good. We've got these guys breathing
down our necks and we're not in first place either. We've got to come back and play better, though."
The Red Sox are 3.5 wins ahead of the Rays and though they have a good wildcard berth position in their hands, they are prone to problems as Tampa Bay is closing in with good speed. Moving into the weekend, Rays were 6.5 wins behind. Now they are 3.5 games
behind.
The team looks strong and defiant in search for the post season qualification. Ortiz was honest in his views as he rated the third place club in the American League East.
"Well, you know, to be honest with you, the past three days, they look like they have no pressure on themselves," Ortiz said. "That makes a huge difference."
Ortiz’s performance against the Rays was poor. He went 0 for 4 against the Tampa Bay side. He was struck-out thrice. His batting average is .313 and Boston manager Terry Francona is hoping for the heavy slugger to break his bleak form in the recent games.
The club has gone 1-6 in the last seven games and they would like to change that quickly.
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