I think one thing was made clear today. David Ortiz is healthy. A day after tying a game in the 8th inning with a 2-run double, Ortiz scored the winning run with a grand slam home run. It was his seventh hit, and his second home run in his last three games. Ortiz has been hampered by a shoulder strain and sore quadriceps most of the season. If Ortiz is now healthy, it would be as if the Red Sox just picked up an extra slugger to help them down the stretch.
Ortiz hasn't been the only hot hitter of late. The Red Sox hottest hitter, Julio Lugo went 2-4. He's now 8 for his last 19 (.421) and coming into tonights game has hit .357/.383/.500 in August. And while J.D. Drew only got one hit today, it was his sixth hit in his last three games.
If the Red Sox bats get hot now, it may be enough to put away the division. With less than 40 games left in the season, a give game divisional lead isn't as easy to overcome as one might think. In order for the Yankees to catch the Red Sox, their winning percentage down the stretch would have to be .128 points higher than that of the Red Sox. To give you an idea of what a difference that is in level of play, it's significantly more than the current difference in winning percentage between the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. With the Red Sox having the easiest September schedule in the league, according to opponent winning percentage, that ground will be rather difficult to be made up.
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