David Ortiz submerged himself in the 2024 All-Star Game at every given chance. From mid-game dugout interviews to an emotional pregame moment shared with his son, D’Angelo, the Hall of Famer enjoyed the 94th annual Midsummer Classic.
Ortiz watched Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran secure the Ted Williams MVP Award after crushing a 413-foot go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning to give the American League a 5-3 lead over the National League. Big Papi, who played in three World Series in Boston during his career, submitted a bold Fall Classic prediction on Tuesday night.
“You guys might think I’m crazy,” Ortiz said after the AL defeated the NL, 5-3, as seen on the FOX Sports postgame show. “… I gotta go to my Red Sox. Remember what I told you, jack of all trades, master of none. The front office, we’re gonna make some moves, we’re gonna get what we need and we’re gonna get the (Philadelphia) Phillies at their house. We’re gonna finish them off. Dave Dombrowski, my guy, watching us. Good luck.”
Philadelphia is two years removed from its last World Series appearance while Boston hasn’t reached the Fall Classic since 2018.
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The Red Sox and Phillies haven’t met in the World Series since 1915, which Boston won in five games, and back when Woodrow Wilson was United States President.
Yet, since Boston hasn’t allowed its many forms of adversity to interfere with what manager Alex Cora is looking to accomplish, the Red Sox have skyrocketed from their bottom-of-the-barel finish in 2023. Boston lost its biggest free agency signee, Lucas Giolito, to a season-ending right elbow injury and still has a pitching staff that ranks fifth in ERA (3.61) among all MLB teams.
Going 53-42 before the All-Star break put the Red Sox just 4 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles and ensured Boston would hold a postseason spot — the final AL wild-card spot — entering the second half of 2024. However, that still leaves plenty of work left to do with the division and wild-card races both up for grabs, making Boston’s approach to the July 30 trade deadline significantly critical.
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Having won seven of their last 10 games before sending Duran and Tanner Houck to Globe Life Field for the All-Star festivities, the Red Sox will return to action on Friday night for a three-game series against the NL East-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Featured image via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
