David Ortiz Fittingly Begins Fenway Farewell With RBI Single In First At-Bat

BOSTON — In case you haven’t heard, David Ortiz has a knack for shining in big moments.

His first at-bat Friday wasn’t exactly a clutch situation, as it came in the first inning of the Boston Red Sox’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. But all eyes still were on Big Papi, as it was the first plate appearance of his final regular-season series ever — the beginning of the end, so to speak.

So, with thousands of camera phones trained on Ortiz with two outs and a runner on second, the 40-year-old slugger did what he does best.

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Ortiz’s single to left field off Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada scored Brock Holt, giving the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.

Big Papi’s hit gave him 125 RBI on the season, a plateau he has reached just three other times in his career. In fact, Ortiz hasn’t hit 120 or more RBI in one year since 2006, when he drove in an American League-high 137 runs.

Ortiz had been in an 0-for-10 slump entering Friday’s game. But if anyone can rise to the occasion, it’s Big Papi, and that’s exactly what he did here.

Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images