The Red Sox Saturday, June 24, 2017

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Addition of Doug Fister, Jhonny Peralta made sense for Red Sox

Alex Speier

The Red Sox’ search for veteran pitching depth dated back to the winter. In Doug Fister, they’ve identified an experienced arm with a chance of providing that trait who comes with virtually no risk.

The Red Sox claimed the veteran righthander off release waivers from the Angels, clearing the way for him to replace Hector Velazquez as the team’s scheduled Sunday starter. While Velazquez had proven serviceable in his most recent start, neither he nor lefthander Brian Johnson (currently on the disabled list due to a shoulder impingement) offered an experienced rotation contributor with Fister’s pedigree.

From 2011-14, he went 51-38 with a 3.11 ERA while averaging 28 starts per . As recently as last year, Fister was off to a strong start with the Astros (8-6 with a 3.55 ERA while averaging more than 6 per outing in 17 first-half starts) before fading badly down the stretch (4-7, 6.20 ERA, less than 5 innings per start after the All-Star break).

The fact that he nonetheless finished the year with 32 starts and more than 180 innings in the big leagues suggests a degree of reliability. He pitched in pennant races and the postseason in four straight years from 2011-14, giving the Sox a with a different resume than the options who were already in the organization.

“It gives us a chance to give us an established, winning pitcher who’s been through postseason play,” said president of baseball operations . “We’re trying to build that depth and as you get to[the July 31 trade deadline], we’re a month away. It’s a while away, but you can’t really count on adding depth after that time period, so the timing was right. And for us, this guy’s a good pitcher.”

Fister doesn’t show the same stuff that he had in his peak years with Detroit or the Nationals. Still, special assignment scout Eddie Bane saw one of Fister’s recent starts in the Angels’ minor league system and, after seeing him throw his signature two-seam fastball at 89-90 mph with a cutter and , came away convinced that the 6-foot-8-inch, 33-year-old could help a big league staff.

“I have a lot of faith in Eddie’s judgment,” said Dombrowski. “He said, ‘Dave, he’s maybe not quite the same, but he can be an effective big league starter for us.’”

There is little evident downside to the move. The Sox are on the hook for the remainder of Fister’s $1.75 million salary – meaning about $1 million for the rest of the year. That leaves the Red Sox with roughly $8 million in flexibility to add payroll while fulfilling the team’s stated goal of staying below the $195 million threshold that would trigger a luxury tax bill. An $8 million nugget, in turn, would give the Sox the freedom to explore multiple avenues for trade upgrades.

Fister provides the Red Sox a short-term fill-in while Eduardo Rodriguez works his way back from the DL.

Dombrowski said that the team is optimistic Rodriguez will return before the All-Star break.

When Rodriguez returns, Fister can move to the — a role in which he proved effective in a limited , having forged a 2.12 ERA in 10 relief outings for the Nationals in 2015 — while also offering the Sox an insurance option should any of their five primary starters suffer an injury.

His presence, in turn, gives the Sox a potential option in an area that represented a priority to address. The Sox didn’t feel a need to add an ace. They needed fallback plans for a strong starting five.

“Unlike maybe some other clubs I don’t believe that we need to add a top of the rotation type starter,” said Dombrowski. “Maybe other clubs are looking for that No. 1, No. 2 type starter. That’s not really important for us. I think it’s more important to be in a position where we add depth for us.”

Dombrowski declined to say whether the team viewed third base, a more versatile infielder, or a setup man as areas of need. He noted that the team is still waiting to see whether , , and Carson Smith (whose minor league rehab assignment has been delayed, as he remains shut down from throwing through at least the weekend due to shoulder soreness) can return to bolster those areas.

The Sox also signed Jhonny Peralta — released by the Cardinals after hitting .204/.259/.204 in 21 games — to a minor league deal, offering the team another potential third base option who comes with no risk.

That doesn’t mean that there’s any guarantee that Fister or Peralta will make an impact. But if they don’t prove capable of making contributions, the Red Sox can move on quickly. They still have the time and money to explore other options in the trade market.

(Prospects — an asset in shorter-than-usual supply for the Red Sox after last winter’s deals — may be another matter.)

But as calculated gambles go, this one seemed to offer the team upside without the risk that might have come from dealing away a prospect in a trade.

It was, as such, a natural fit for the team’s needs — while setting the stage for more ambitious additions between now and the July 31 trade deadline.

‘You are our family, and it will be like that until the day we die’

Brad Almquist

It was the culmination of 14 incredible years, three titles, and countless memories.

On a warm Friday evening, ’s No. 34 was retired at , joining nine Red Sox legends whose numbers are untouchable.

Before the red drape covering Ortiz’s number was unveiled, No. 34 appeared everywhere throughout Fenway and — what was formerly — David Ortiz Drive.

Oriz’s number was on signs, jerseys, game programs, and videoboards. The Red Sox team shop had sold so much Ortiz apparel that the store needed to restock after the game had started.

Perhaps the memories of Ortiz’s 2016 season, one of the best of his career, were still fresh. Less than a year after retiring, his number has become cemented in Red Sox lore, quite a feat when considering the other players’ numbers, including ’s, weren’t retired for an average of 26 years after their careers concluded.

“He is incredibly important to the Red Sox, the city and , for that matter,” Red Sox manager said. “I am fortunate to have worn the same uniform as him.”

Fenway Park looked filled to capacity nearly 45 minutes before game time, with the jersey retirement ceremony set to begin.

No. 34 was plastered on both on-deck circles and in center field. The three World Series trophies that Ortiz was so instrumental in bringing to Boston were put on display. Highlights of Ortiz’s greatest moments played on the videoboard in center field for about 15 minutes preceding the ceremony.

Former teammates and , who began the ceremony, walked out of the dugout and onto the red carpet. Fans erupted even louder when Pedro Martinez was announced.

Ortiz strutted onto the red carpet in typical Big Papi fashion, sporting a sleek navy suit and swanky sunglasses. He slipped on his No. 34 white Red Sox jersey, and the crowd went wild.

In his speech that lasted about 10 minutes, Ortiz showed the confidence, wit, light-heartedness, and sincerity that endeared him to so many.

On the visiting dugout side, Angels teared up as he watched his teenage friend take the microphone. On Friday night, Pujols reflected on Ortiz’s best traits. Pujols said he used to call Ortiz during a slump, and the advice Ortiz gave to his Dominican friend was simple: Look at the back of your jersey. Ortiz wanted Pujols to remind himself he was still the same dominant player he always was.

“That is something I always kept with me,” Pujols said. “He has helped me out in my career and given me a lot of good advice. I’m honored to be here tonight to celebrate with him.”

Pujols said it’s special to be part of the star-studded group that has continued the Dominican tradition of excellence in the majors. Ortiz has always proudly represented the Dominican Republic, seen in his “Just a kid from Santo Domingo” shirt or appearances in international competitions.

“We idol him like there is no tomorrow,” said friend Carlos Baez, who also was born in the Dominican Republic. “The guy could run for president in the Dominican Republic tomorrow and win, hands down.”

Maybe in America, too. On Friday night, a woman held a sign that read “Papi for President.”

The Red Sox went on to win Friday, 9-4, but this night was about Ortiz.

Martinez and Red Sox second baseman , two of Ortiz’s longstanding teammates, spoke about Ortiz before the game.

“You are not our teammate, you are our family, and it will be like that until the day we die,” Pedroia said. Ortiz then walked up to the microphone teary-eyed.

“It was very touching, very emotional,” Ortiz said. “I was trying to hold my ground until I saw Pedroia. Me and [Pedroia] go way back. [Pedroia] is like my baby brother. I know what he said comes from the bottom of his heart. I couldn’t hold it any more.”

Ortiz would go on to thank his family, teammates, fans, and his beloved city of Boston. After speaking for about 10 minutes, Ortiz unsurprisingly walked off the field to “Papi” chants and a standing ovation.

“He’s an icon,” Dave Dombrowski said. “You don’t say that very often about individuals in a community. But to me, he’s an icon in the city of Boston. He deserved that. That’s how he’s treated by the community. He’s well-respected, and it’s a special night for everybody.”

Red Sox claim righty Doug Fister off waivers

Julian Benbow

Back when Dave Dombrowski was president of the and Doug Fister was a young pitcher the franchise was willing to take a chance on, the trait that stuck out was his competitiveness.

It was something Dombrowski noticed in even the simplest exercises.

Dombrowski was on a treadmill early one morning before an afternoon game and on the machine next to him was Fister.

They made small talk, then went about their workouts.

“I think I’m going pretty fast,” Dombrowski recalled. “I’m up to 6.5, 7. In about two minutes, Doug’s at about 9. Then he’s up to 10. He’s just sprinting like crazy. So we sat, and we talked the whole time period. So I’ve always had a nice bond with him.”

In Fister’s two-plus season with the Tigers, he and Dombrowski developed a bond.

Fister was eventually traded to the Nationals. Dombrowski eventually moved on to become the Red Sox president of baseball operations.

But with the Sox looking to address a pitching staff that seems to get thinner by the week, Dombrowski thought Fister could fill a need.

The Sox claimed Fister off waivers Friday to add depth to an injury-riddled rotation. The 33-year-old righthander is expected to arrive in Boston on Saturday and make start on Sunday.

“I’ve always respected Doug a great deal,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a tremendous human being. He’s a competitor.”

In 212 games (199 starts) over his eight-year career, Fister is 77-76 with a 3.60 ERA. He went 32-20 in two-plus seasons with the Tigers, helping them reach the World Series in 2012.

He spent two seasons with the Nationals before signing with the Astros as a free agent in 2016.

He signed a minor league deal with the Angels in May and made three starts for A Salt Lake City, going 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA before opting out this week.

“Again, I know his stuff wasn’t quite the same as it was in the past, but Eddie [Bane] scouted him,” Dombrowski said. “I have faith in Eddie’s judgment, and he said, ‘Dave he’s maybe not quite the same, but he can be an effective big-league starter for us.’ “

With out for the season (left knee), Eduardo Rodriguez working his way back (right knee), and spot starter Brian Johnson on the disabled list (left shoulder), the Sox were in need of a starter.

“A chance to add a proven pitcher with a lot of experience,” said Sox manager John Farrell. “A guy that we’ve gotten solid reports on with his recent stars while in Salt Lake City.

“I think more than anything, a guy that we can add some depth in the event that something unforeseen happens again from an injury standpoint. We’ve got him slated to start Sunday. So he’ll travel here overnight and be here for tomorrow.”

Dombrowski said when Rodriguez returns, Fister will slide into the bullpen.

“He gives us depth at a very reasonable cost,” Dombrowski said. “That’s a priority for us.”

Peralta also signed Trying to shore up what’s been a shaky spot all season, Dombrowski signed Jhonny Peralta to a minor league deal.

Peralta spent three-plus seasons with Dombrowski in Detroit before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent for the 2014 season.

After four years in St. Louis, including an All-Star season in 2015, the Cardinals released him last week. Dombrowski had kept an eye on Peralta since the spring.

“He had a real good spring, really didn’t play much at the beginning of the year,” Dombrowski said. “He had some injuries. We had some mixed reports on him during the regular season, and we felt to at least get an opportunity to go to Triple A and take a look at him. So really, we’re open to improving our club however we possibly can over the time period [by the trade deadline].”

Peralta will report to Triple A Pawtucket on Monday and play his first game on Tuesday. He possibly could be in Pawtucket at the same time as Pablo Sandoval, who’s been on the 10-day disabled list since Tuesday with an inner ear infection.

“He’s close to getting healthy once again with that inner ear,” Dombrowski said. “He’s not quite there yet. He’s still stuffy. We’re hopeful at the beginning of the week he’ll be able to go out into rehab.”

Smith recovering After another setback, Carson Smith has been recovering from the lingering soreness in his throwing shoulder.

Smith has been in “no-throw” mode since pitching a simulated in Philadelphia a week ago last and returning to Boston to be examined.

He’ll be shut down through the weekend and be re-evaluated on Monday with the hopes he can begin a throwing program again.

The Sox targeted a June 1 return for Smith’s return from Tommy John surgery coming out of .

Even though the recovery process has been complicated, both Farrell and Dombrowski were reluctant to rule Smith out for the remainder of the season.

“I think Carson still has a chance to come back and help us this year,” Dombrowski said.

“He’s responding favorably to the treatment,” Farrell said. “Continues to rehab as he’s been. But we have not closed the book, in a sense, on anything Carson can contribute this year.”

Pedroia in the lineup A couple of hours before the first pitch on Friday, Farrell was under the impression Dustin Pedroia only would be available in the event of an emergency.

He went through fielding drills and took practice, but Farrell didn’t expect him back on the field until Saturday, unless it was in a pinch.

But when the official lineups came out, Pedroia’s name was in the No. 2 spot in the order.

A hip injury forced Josh Rutledge out of the lineup and led to Pedroia’s early return.

Pedroia missed three games after being in the ribs with a 92-mile-per hour fastball by the Royals’ James Hoyt. Pedroia vomited blood in the dugout and had X-rays Sunday night.

16 picks signed The Sox signed 16 more draft picks, including three of their top-10 selections.

Second-rounder Cole Brannen — a high school from Georgia — agreed to a $1.3 million bonus. Fifth-rounder Alex Scherff, a high school righthander with a mid- to high-90s fastball, signed for $700,000, according to major league sources. Zach Schellenger (sixth round) also signed.

The rest of the signees: third baseman Garrett Benge, pitcher Kutter Crawford, Frankie Rios, pitcher Dominic LoBrutto, pitcher Hunter Haworth, catcher Charlie Madden, pitcher Kory Behenna, second baseman Xavier LeGrant, third baseman Michael Osinski, pitcher Taylor Ahearn, pitcher Tanner Raiburn, Trey Ganns, and pitcher Rio Gomez (36th round).

The Sox have signed 21 of their 40 draft picks.

Benge, Crawford, Rios LoBrutto and Madden were all assigned to short-season -A Lowell. The rest of the group will go to the Gulf Coast League.

The Red Sox also signed two non-drafted free agents, pitcher Durin O’Linger of Davidson College and third baseman Jecorrah Arnold out of Clarke Central High School (Ga.).

* The Boston Herald

Rick Porcello paces Red Sox to win over Angels

Stephen Hewitt

Rick Porcello still has a long way to go if he wants to return to being the Cy Young-caliber pitcher he was a season ago, but this was certainly a start.

The rocky first half for the Red Sox right-hander has been a mystery, but last night he looked like his 2016 self and kept the at bay long enough for a 9-4 victory at Fenway Park.

Porcello already had more than doubled his loss total from 2016 and seen his ERA plummet to 5.05 — all while leading the majors in by a significant margin — going into last night’s outing. A bounce-back outing was more than overdue, and he earned it. The righty was efficient most of the night, throwing 102 pitches across 61⁄3 innings as he ran into late trouble.

He pitched into the seventh inning before back-to-back long hits ended his game, but the righty was still rewarded with a standing ovation as he walked off the mound.

It remains to be seen if the performance was an anomaly to his struggles or what may become a personal turning point. Either way, it was much-needed and got the Red Sox (41-32) on solid footing as they began a seven-game home stretch.

Of course, receiving run support always helps matters — something that’s been an issue for him — and he go plenty on this special night for .

Maybe the lineup was just inspired with the return of David Ortiz, whose number No. 34 was retired before the game, but the offense came quickly.

After Porcello started with a 1-2-3 first — aided by throwing out Kole Calhoun on a single he tried to stretch to a — the Red Sox started fast. and Dustin Pedroia led off with walks before hit an RBI double to left to put the Sox ahead.

The Sox found some luck, too. Los Angeles pitcher Alex Meyer followed that with a wild pitch that scored Pedroia from third, and two batters later, another wild pitch opened the door for Bogaerts to score.

Just like that, Porcello had a 3-0 lead to work with.

The Angels got one back in the fourth on an unlucky play. Albert Pujols led off with a double, Andrelton Simmons singled to left, but not noticing that the slow moving Pujols was held at third, Benintendi fired it home and Sandy Leon couldn’t handle the throw, which rolled to the backstop and allowed Pujols to score.

Hanley Ramirez and Leon both hit two-run homers to make up for it. Ramirez slapped his 10th of the season to right as it snuck behind Pesky’s Pole. Leon crushed his fifth into the bullpen to make it 7-1 in the sixth.

Porcello ran into trouble after giving up a seventh-inning double to , and Martin Maldonado hit a triple to deep center that was too high for Jackie Bradley Jr. Cliff Pennington followed with a double to deep center, and that was it for Porcello. Heath Hembree relieved him and gave up an RBI double that scooted past a diving Benintendi in left.

Current Red Sox would do well to match fun of David Ortiz

Steve Buckley

Celtics legend Larry Bird once said he found inspiration by gazing up at the retired uniform No. 4 of Bruins legend .

Red Sox legend David Ortiz, we learned last night, found inspiration by gazing upon the retired uniform numbers of other Red Sox legends.

But he did more than gaze. Speaking to Red Sox fans during a pregame ceremony that was well- orchestrated, occasionally funny and at times heart-tuggingly emotional, culminating with the unveiling of the big fella’s No. 34 on Fenway Park’s right-field facade, Ortiz said it was always a dream to hit a ball off those numbers.

And guess what? Speaking with the media following the ceremony — “I don’t miss you guys at all,” said Big Papi, channeling his inner — Ortiz revealed he did, indeed, once hit a ball off the retired numbers.

“I hit the No. 1,” he said, referring to the retired number of Hall of Fame second baseman , who is 99 years old and living in Oregon.

It’s amazing how often Doerr’s name comes up in Boston sports history. He was unofficial captain of the Red Sox’ 1946 pennant-winning team. He was first-base of the 1967 Impossible Dreamers, and during spring training that year taught Jim Lonborg the bunting techniques that would help win the pennant on the final day of the season. Years later, as a scout with the Toronto Blue Jays, he signed a Brigham Young University infielder named Danny Ainge.

Now it comes out that David Ortiz once dented Bobby Doerr’s number.

True, it was only in batting practice. The only player ever to hit the facade was , who did it with a 460-foot off the Yankees’ Dick Tidrow on June 19, 1977. (There were no numbers on the facade in those days.)

“It was a good day to hit during batting practice,” said Ortiz, who can’t remember exactly what year it was. “But to be honest with you, I never thought I’d have a chance to hit the ball out there. It’s pretty far.”

What he said next revealed Ortiz’ desire to be a Red Sox legend.

“My comment based on those numbers was, like, I started just getting behind the history of this organization,” he said. “So that happening to me today, it’s a super honor to be up there, hanging with those guys.

“Those guys, those numbers, have a lot of good baseball in them. It takes special people to do special things and at the end of the day have their number retired up there.”

There’s something really cool about that. The very idea that a batter, any batter, would look at the retired numbers belonging to , Jim Rice, Pedro Martinez and other Red Sox legends and summon the moxie to actually dream to hit a ball out there shows a ton of confidence but it also shows a healthy respect for history. Some players would dare to hit a ball out there because they want to show off their guns; Ortiz wanted that as well, one assumes, but he also wanted to do it because of the symbolism. He wanted to be a part of Red Sox history.

True, he’d be a big part of Red Sox history even had the Sox waited years and years to retire his number. After all, it wasn’t until 1984 that the club got around to retiring Teddy Ballgame’s No. 9, yet his place as the greatest hitter in Red Sox history had been assured long before that.

Which brings me to this important point: That the Sox retired Ortiz’ number last night, rather than wait two or three or five years, is entirely proper. As for the club’s clanky and since ash-canned “policy” about being in the Hall of Fame and all that before you get your number retired . . . why wait?

Besides, there’s this: The Red Sox have strangely been not much fun this year and everyone knows it. Manager John “Accountability Is a Two-Way Street” Farrell can’t get out of his way on most days, and David Price can’t figure out Boston. It’s been a drag.

Having David Ortiz return to Fenway Park is a reminder that it’s OK to have fun playing baseball.

Big Papi’s longtime teammate, Dustin Pedroia, summoned some Hall of Fame eloquence last night when he said, “You’re not our teammate, you’re not our friend. You’re our family.”

The family misses David Ortiz.

Maybe it’ll help if they start aiming for his No. 34 in batting practice.

Red Sox notebook: Veteran righty Doug Fister joins the rotation

Stephen Hewitt

Dave Dombrowski had to wait a little while, but after narrowly missing out on Doug Fister, he’s happy to have the right-handed pitcher on his roster again.

A month ago, the Red Sox were a day late to acquiring Fister when he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Dombrowski even made the phone call in an effort to sign him.

But there was a catch: Fister could opt out of the deal if he wasn’t on the big league roster by June 21.

Dombrowski kept a close eye, and after three minor league starts, Fister hadn’t been called up, and he did elect to opt out. Yesterday, the Sox finished the deal and claimed the off release waivers.

In a quick turnaround, Fister is expected to start tomorrow in the Sox’ series finale against, ironically, the Angels. The expectation is that the 33-year-old veteran provides depth to a rotation that’s been thinned by injuries in the first half of the season.

“It gives us a chance to have an established, winning pitcher who’s been through postseason play, that’s been through a pennant race, continuing to keep some depth,” Dombrowski said. “We’re trying to build that depth, and as you get to July 31, you can’t count on adding depth after that time period, so the timing was right.

“He’s a championship-caliber makeup player. He’s a quality individual, hard worker, great shape, and we think he can help us.”

In three starts for Salt Lake City, the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, Fister was 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA. Red Sox scout Eddie Bane went out to take a look in his second start, and upon Bane’s recommendation, the interest grew. The Sox scouted him by video in his most recent outing and thought he’d be worth the signing when June 21 hit.

“This guy’s a good pitcher,” Dombrowski said. “His stuff isn’t quite the same as it was in the past, but Eddie scouted him. I have a lot of faith in Eddie’s judgment and he said, ‘Dave, he may not be quite the same, but he can be an effective big league starter for us.’ If (Eduardo Rodriguez) comes back, we can also slide him to the bullpen at that point, and if he gives us depth at a very reasonable cost for me.”

Smith rehab on hold

Manager John Farrell seem to be cautiously optimistic, but the signs are still ominous for Carson Smith.

Two weeks ago, it seemed the right-handed reliever, who’s working his way back from Tommy John surgery, would soon be ready for a rehab assignment after a throwing session in New York. But facing live hitters in Philadelphia last week, Smith experienced a setback after he came out of it with muscle soreness in his shoulder.

Smith now has not thrown since June 15 and is in the middle of a no-throw period. The next step is getting reevaluated on Monday with the hopes that he can start a throwing program.

“He’s responding favorably to the treatment, continuing to rehab as he’s been, but we have not closed the book in a sense on anything Carson can contribute this year,” Farrell said.

It was thought that Smith would be available by the middle of June, but that timetable has been pushed back. It’s unclear what the new time frame may be.

“It’s still too early to tell,” Farrell said. “We thought he was days from starting his rehab assignment after his last live BP session in New York. Unfortunately that’s been put on hold for the time being. To get into any kind of timetables, I don’t know if any of us could predict that right now.”

E-Rod moving along

Dombrowski said Rodriguez, who’s out with an injured right knee, is on the right track and the Red Sox are targeting an early July return date. The plan is for the lefty to face batters for the first time today.

“Eduardo’s making great progress at this point, and he’s going to throw to hitters for the first time tomorrow, and then he’s going to be on a five-day routine if that goes well,” Dombrowski said. “We are hopeful that he would go out and pitch, but we’re going to wait until after he throws and see how he reacts (tomorrow), and he’s in a position where we’re hopeful he’ll be back if things progress, in the rotation by the All-Star break.”

Peralta signs on

The Sox agreed to terms with third baseman Jhonny Peralta on a minor league contract. He’ll report to Pawtucket on Monday.

Peralta, 35, hit .204 in 58 plate appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals last season. He can provide depth for the Sox at the hot corner with Pablo Sandoval out and the team in need at that position.

Speaking of Sandoval, he’s getting close . . . again.

The third baseman is on the disabled list with an ear infection, and Dombrowski is hopeful he can return soon.

“He’s not quite there yet, he’s still stuffy, talked to him today,” Dombrowski said. “We’re hopeful the beginning of the week he’ll be able to go on injury rehab.”

Fenway Park abuzz for David Ortiz night vs. Angels

Stephen Hewitt

Outside Fenway Park on Yawkey Way, more than three hours before the start of the game, vendors were selling programs with a familiar face on the cover, and fans lined the gates with their dusted-off No. 34 jerseys.

In the course of the last 15 years, that was a pretty ordinary sight. But this was just a bit different.

Tonight, it's all about David Ortiz.

In reality, those fans probably didn't need to do much dusting off of their Ortiz gear. It was less than nine months ago when the Red Sox legend bid farewell to his career, the team will honor him by retiring his No. 34 in right field in a pregame ceremony.

Ortiz's number will be the 11th to be retired at Fenway in what's sure to be an emotional and fun ceremony. Fans attending the game have been asked to get to their seats by 6:30 for the festivities.

The Ortiz ceremony is almost a sideshow to the actual game tonight. After a bitter end to their road trip on Wednesday in Kansas City, the Red Sox open a seven-game home stretch with a three-game series against the Angels.

After the Ortiz ceremony, Rick Porcello will get the ball as he tries to put an end to what's been a season- long slump. Dustin Pedroia was a late addition to the lineup. He missed the last three games and was originally not in the lineup announced at mid-afternoon.

RED SOX (40-32) vs. ANGELS (38-38)

Game time: 7:10 p.m.; TV: NESN, MLBN; Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM, WCEC 1490 AM/103.7 FM

RED SOX

Betts RF Pedroia 2B Bogaerts SS Moreland 1B Benintendi LF Ramirez DH Bradley Jr. CF Leon C Marrero 3B RHP Porcello (3-9, 5.05 ERA)

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox 9, Angels 4: Ramirez honors predecessor Ortiz with home run

Brian MacPherson

BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez didn’t come close to hitting a home run off the right-field façade now adorned by the No. 34 worn so memorably by David Ortiz, the façade at which Ortiz said during his number- retirement ceremony he always took aim.

But Ramirez did hit an Alex Meyer curveball just over the right-field fence inside the Pesky Pole, his 10th home run of the season -- and his first home run since his slugging percentage had dipped under .400 earlier this week. Home runs by Ramirez and Sandy Leon were more than enough to propel the Red Sox to a 9-4 win over the middling Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park on Friday.

“To use the whole field, I know it’s something he’s been working at to try to regain,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “Maybe he gets a little bit of a benefit from the Pesky Pole, but that’s beside the point. Squaring up a ball going the other way, that’s what we’ve always keyed in on with Hanley when he’s got good plate coverage.”

The return of Ortiz to Fenway Park to have his number retired only made more glaring the lack of production Boston has seen this season from the hitter who was always supposed to replace him. Ramirez came into Friday’s game having slugged a mere .339 since a two-homer game against Baltimore in early May, a span of more than 150 plate appearances.

The balky shoulders that have prevented Ramirez from playing first base on even a periodic basis this season seem to have affected him at the plate as well, even if he generally has been in the lineup all season.

And so, while it takes considerably less power to sneak a fly ball inside the Pesky Pole than hit one out to straightaway center field, it had to be encouraging for the Ortiz-less Red Sox to see Ramirez go the other way with some authority. Ramirez never needed to hit like Ortiz to be an asset as a full-time designated hitter. He does have to slug well north of .400, however, or risk being a significant liability.

Just as encouraging was the home run by Leon into the bullpen in right field, his first home run since May 7. Last season’s most surprising offensive contributor had crashed back to earth this season, slugging an ugly .279 in 78 plate appearances since he last homered. He had slugged just .354 against righties this season before his home run on Friday against Angels reliever Eduardo Paredes. He added a two-run double off lefty Jose Alvarez in the eighth inning for good measure.

“If there’s a guy that continues to grind away, it’s Sandy,” Farrell said.

Boston took a first-inning lead thanks to the wildness of Los Angeles starter Alex Meyer, who walked Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia back-to-back and then, after a Xander Bogaerts double, threw a pair of wild pitches that allowed runs to score.

Red Sox starter Rick Porcello pitched effectively through six innings but ran into trouble in the seventh, yielding three straight extra-base hits to hasten his exit. He yielded three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight and walking one -- an encouraging bounce-back effort after an awful start in Houston last weekend.

“It’s always hard to come back in four days and completely correct what you’re trying to correct, but today was definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “Most important was to get out there and compete and stop thinking about all that crap and just go out there and execute pitches.”

Red Sox sign Jhonny Peralta to minor-league deal

Tim Britton

BOSTON — Doug Fister wasn’t the only former Detroit Tiger the Red Sox added on Friday. The club also came to terms on a minor-league contract with infielder Jhonny Peralta, who had been released by the Cardinals. Peralta is expected to report to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday.

Peralta, 35, hit .204 with a .259 on-base percentage in 21 games for St. Louis this season. He posted a .715 OPS for the Cardinals last season.

Peralta will play third base for the PawSox. He gives the organization an additional option at a position that has been among the worst in baseball this season. Boston’s third basemen own a .577 OPS entering Friday — the worst in baseball by a significant margin.

“We thought it was a nice fit for us,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We felt it was an opportunity to go to Triple-A and take a look at him.”

The imminent presence of Peralta in Pawtucket may be one reason the Red Sox have yet to promote , with Dombrowski saying now was “probably not an opportune time.”

“He’s really close. He’s really continued to make strides,” Dombrowski said of Devers.

With fellow third baseman Michael Chavis promoted to Portland this week, Dombrowski said Devers would continue to play third base roughly five times a week with Chavis spending the majority of his time at DH.

Red Sox add to starting depth with Doug Fister

Tim Britton

BOSTON — In their continuous search for rotation depth, the Red Sox claimed veteran right-hander Doug Fister on Friday off waivers from the Angels. Fister will take Hector Velazquez’s spot in the rotation, starting on Sunday against Anaheim.

“A chance to add a proven major-league pitcher with a lot of experience,” manager John Farrell said.

Fister will arrive at Fenway Park on Saturday and be activated in time for the game. He’ll start Sunday.

Fister had opted out of his initial deal with the Angels, allowing Boston to claim him on Friday. The Red Sox made room on the 40-man roster for Fister by outrighting Kyle Kendrick on Thursday. Velazquez will presumably be sent down on Saturday.

“It gives us an established, winning pitcher who’s been through postseason play, been through a pennant race,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who has experience with Fister from their time in Detroit.

Fister gives Boston someone with considerably more big-league experience than either Velazquez or Brian Johnson. If Eduardo Rodriguez is able to return to the major-league club by the All-Star break as hoped, Fister could then move to the bullpen, said Dombrowski.

The Red Sox had been tracking the 33-year-old Fister since spring training, when he remained one of the highest-profile unsigned . At the time, Dombrowski said, Fister’s demands were a bit beyond where Boston was willing to go.

By mid-May, with Steven Wright and David Price injured and Kendrick struggling in the Red Sox rotation, Dombrowski and Co. were ready to make a move for Fister — only to be beaten there by the Angels.

Fister had made three starts with Triple-A Salt Lake City in Anaheim’s system, posting a 4.02 ERA over 15 2/3 innings before his June 21 opt-out. Angels reliever Huston Street was with Fister in extended spring training in Arizona and then again in Salt Lake City recently.

“What I saw made me think he’s going to be a tough guy to beat on Sunday,” Street said. “He looked very sharp, in command. He and I had a lot of discussions about what his plan was going to be, and he was ready to be activated to pitch somewhere. Obviously he made the right decision.”

Acquiring Fister from Seattle was one of Dombrowski’s finest moves in Detroit. Often considered a product of Safeco Field, Fister instead excelled while with the Tigers, pitching superbly down the stretch in 2011 — including winning a winner-take-all elimination game at — and carrying it over into 2012 and 2013.

Trading Fister away to Washington was one of Dombrowski’s most controversial moves in Detroit, especially after the right-hander delivered his best season with the Nationals in 2014.

Since that point, though, Fister has seen his fastball velocity dip into the 80s and his results tumble. He went 12-13 with a 4.64 ERA in 32 starts for the Astros last season.

Over his career, Fister is 77-76 with a 3.60 ERA over 212 major-league games.

Carson Smith remains in “no throw” period

Tim Britton

BOSTON — The cloud around Carson Smith’s latest pause in his return from Tommy John surgery looked a lot more ominous on Friday.

One didn’t have to read much between the lines from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager John Farrell to realize the inflammation Smith has experienced in his shoulder could severely limit his contributions in 2017.

“Carson still has a chance to come back and help us this year,” Dombrowski said.

“We have not closed the book in a sense on anything Carson could contribute this year,” said Farrell.

That’s a far cry from where the Red Sox were last homestand, let alone in the offseason and spring training when June 1 was targeted as a reasonable return date for the right-handed reliever. Smith was “days away” from a rehab assignment in Farrell’s words before experiencing that shoulder inflammation. He hasn’t thrown in more than a week, and he will continue to rest this weekend, Farrell said.

Smith will be re-evaluated on Monday.

If you think you’ve heard that kind of phrasing earlier this season, well, it’s more or less how the Red Sox talked about Tyler Thornburg last month — before he underwent season-ending surgery.

“By no means have I written anything off,” Farrell said of Thornburg on May 27.

Even if Smith is able to return at some point in 2017, it seems unlikely the Red Sox will have much of a read on him before the July 31 trade deadline.

“To get into any kind of timeframes or timetables, I don’t know that any of us can predict that right now,” Farrell said of Smith.

Smith’s continued uncertainty thus means Boston may have to be more proactive in the relief market come July.

* The Hartford Courant

Tears of Joy As Papi Honored; Family Embraces Ortiz In Retirement Ceremony

Jeff Jacobs

Dustin Pedroia made Big Papi cry.

Yet it was those numbers, those retired numbers at Fenway Park, that gave David Ortiz something to shoot for.

Shimmering in the late afternoon sun, a large red cloth had hung from the façade below the right field roof deck seats, the last few threads of secrecy for the much anticipated ceremony to come.

To the left of the cloth were the numbers 9, 4, 1, the numbers 8, 27, 6, the numbers 14, 45 and 26. Those are the nine previously retired Red Sox numbers of Williams, Cronin and Doerr, Yaz, Fisk and Pesky, Rice, Pedro and Boggs. To the right was No. 42; Jackie Robinson's number is retired throughout baseball.

The Red Sox do ceremonies as well as anybody and this one to retire No. 34 on Friday night would be no exception. Ortiz' family was there, so were dignitaries from the Dominican Republic and so were Hall of Famers like Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs and, of course, Pedro Martinez.

The way he bounced out of the dugout, the way he bounced into the giant arms of Ortiz, well, there is no joy like Pedro's joy when he finds his compadre. Martinez, representing the champions, stepped to the microphone and went directly to the legend. Of course, he did.

"Thank you Lord for allowing me to give Boston the greatest gift ever," Martinez said.

Pedro was referring to the story about how he went out with friends in Santo Domingo in December 2002, how he had a hankering for lobster stew and how he happened to bump into Ortiz in a restaurant. The Twins had just released him and Papi was bummed. Pedro had an idea. He said he pulled out his little flip phone right there and started calling everybody he knew with the Red Sox. His message: Sign Ortiz.

"I was at the right place at the right time," Martinez said. "I don't have enough words to say today how proud a papa I am."

That's a fib right there. Pedro never runs out of words.

It would be Pedroia, representing the 2007 and champs and the current team, who made Ortiz cry.

"We want to thank you not for the clutch hits, the 500 home runs, we want to thank you for how you made us feel," Pedroia said. "It's love. You are not our teammate and you are not our friend, you are our family. It will be like that until the day we die."

It was at that moment, that the 541 career home runs, the 1,768 RBI, the three World Series titles came crashing down on Papi. All those monstrous hits in 2004 and 2013, the 500th homer, the unforgettable sight of Ortiz grabbing the microphone after the bombings and telling the fans at Fenway, "This is our [f-bomb] city. Nobody is going to dictate our freedom." Yes, it hit him all at once.

They had pulled back that red cloth to unveil No. 34. And now Pedroia had bared Papi's heart.

"Man," Ortiz said, as he wiped away tears with his handkerchief. "The little guy made me cry."

And then Ortiz looked out at the numbers on the right field façade, the 9, 4, 1, 8 and the rest. Those numbers had become targets for him, something for the big lefthander to try to hit with a , numbered greats to emulate and on a Friday night in 2017 to join.

"It is an honor to see my number right next to all those legends," Ortiz said. "I remember hitting batting practice at this field. I always was trying to hit those numbers. I never thought about having my number up there with theirs. I looked at those numbers with so much respect. I know every single one of them did something really, really special for this ballclub and community."

Later he would explain how he hit Bobby Doerr's No. 1 once in batting practice and how his teammates talked about that monstrous shot for quite some time.

"I never thought I'd have a chance to hit a ball out there _ it's far," said Ortiz turning from the literal to the metaphorical. "It's a super honor to be up there hanging with those guys."

Papi's mom has passed, but his dad Enrique was there and Ortiz gave him special tribute. In another poignant moment, one that hit him nearly as hard as Pedroia had, Kirby Puckett's children walked onto the field to honor Ortiz. He had taken No. 34 when he arrived in Boston as a way of paying homage to the great Twin.

"When I chose to wear that number, I was proud because of the person that I was wearing it for," Ortiz said. "He did special things. Somebody that special needs special things. When I saw [Puckett's two children] coming toward me, I thought about Kirby a lot."

Ultimately, he would turn to the Fenway Park fans, "There was no way for me to take my performance to the highest level without the love and support you guys showed me every day." Seconds later, he would throw the high and wide to Jason Varitek, but he threw the perfect strike by ending his speech with, "I love you Boston."

The "34" mowed into the centerfield grass was just as perfect. We know, of course, Ortiz wasn't perfect. He could pout about contracts. He could complain about scorer's calls. It may never be clear if he took performance-enhancing drugs for a time. Yet no one could galvanize a clubhouse, a fan base, a city, a region like Ortiz. No player was ever more important to the Red Sox. No hitter was ever more clutch. He owns Boston.

"He is an icon," said Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombowski.

In retiring Ortiz's number in the 34th home game after his retirement, did the Red Sox hold the ceremony too early? Maybe they could have waited a year. There were pre-game ceremonies and gifts everywhere he went last year during his final season, yet the last night ended awkwardly. The fans at Fenway Park were angered their team was ousted so quickly from the playoffs, yet they also clamored for Ortiz's curtain call. He gave one.

"The fact that David is having this done this quick to his departure I think speak volumes to the person, the player he was. Incredibly important to the Red Sox, the city and, I think major league baseball," manager John Farrell said.

There was no stinging October defeat this time. Only a ribald roast for charity on Thursday night and a sliver of street around Fenway Park renamed "David Ortiz Drive," and, yes, a whole lot of love. The ceremony exceeded his expectations. He looked around and saw no empty seats and said he was amazed.

"It was very touching, very emotional," Ortiz said. "I was holding ground until I saw Pedroia. Me and Pee Wee go way back, he's like my baby brother. I love him so much. I know what he said came from the bottom of his heart. I couldn't hold it anymore. Pee Wee ain't that nice every day."

Ortiz has made a choice to stay away from the Red Sox clubhouse through the early months of 2017. His smile, his body, his voice, everything about him is oversized. He fills a room in so many ways. The last thing the Red Sox need is more speculation about Papi coming out of retirement. He's not.

"I think it speaks to David's awareness of himself, the situation, how a team functions," Farrell said. "I think he has a keen awareness that he could potentially keep others from flourishing. I wouldn't be surprised it is at the root of his decision to keep the space he has.

"He had one of his better years of his career in his final year. The natural response would be, 'Why stop?' But I'm sure he is very much at peace with his decision."

Ortiz says he has been in touch with his former teammates, the front office and ownership. He said he plans to take a position with the organization at some point.

"I could never entirely walk away, but I tell myself give everybody their space," Ortiz said. "I don't want to be a distraction. [Team president] Sam Kennedy can give you more information. It's going to happen. At some point I'm going to be able to help out somehow, somewhere."

Judging by that No. 34 hanging with all the other numbers, it is clear David Ortiz already has.

* The Springfield Republican

Joe Kelly now Red Sox's eighth-inning reliever with struggling to find strike zone

Christopher Smith

BOSTON -- Matt Barnes walked six batters in 2 1/3 innings over four outings on the Red Sox's eight game road trip.

He threw 69 pitches, 31 strikes -- or just 45 percent of his pitches for strikes.

Manager John Farrell changed things up in the eighth inning with the Red Sox leading by three runs against the Angels here Friday at Fenway Park.

He instead went with who pitched a scoreless inning. Boston won 9-4 over the Angels.

Kelly will keep the eighth inning at least for the time being.

"When he's available," said Farrell who has used Kelly just twice on back-to-back days this year. "Because if you look at the work usage for him, it's been pretty regimented how frequently we go to (him). But he's been on a good run himself. There's been a lot of strikes thrown. He's been in command of counts. The walks haven't been part of it.

"So felt like a stretch that Matt Barnes has been in previously, we're in the midst of one of those again where maybe the delivery might be a little out of sync. But a quality inning once again from Joe."

Kelly has a 1.14 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, nine holds, 15 walks and 24 in 31 2/3 innings (30 appearances).

He has not allowed a run in his past 20 appearances (18.1 innings), a career-long streak.

Rick Porcello makes mechanical adjustments and throws best start in a month for Red Sox

Jen McCaffrey

BOSTON - A few mechanical adjustments seem to have made all the difference for Rick Porcello.

The right-hander allowed just one run over his first six innings of work before the Angels tagged him for three more in the seventh but Boston already had a healthy lead en route to 9-4 win on Friday.

Porcello dominated early and looked more like the pitcher he was during his 2016 Cy Young winning season than the mediocre starter he's been so far this year.

"To me, vintage Rick Porcello," manager John Farrell said. "The sink had returned to his two seamer and it's a tribute to the amount of work that he continues to do. A couple of pitches up in the seventh inning that cut his night short. He had crisp stuff throughout."

Porcello finished with four runs allowed, three earned, on eight hits and one walk while striking out eight over 6 1/3 innings.

Entering Friday, Porcello had a 5.05 ERA in 15 starts. The righty has been working to return to the form that made him so successful last season.

"The focus is to get back down to the bottom of the strike zone and that's a matter of timing in his delivery, throwing the ball downhill, down through the catcher versus out through the catcher," Farrell explained. "While that might sound like a subtle difference, for a pitcher like Rick, it's critical to stay on top of the baseball, to create a downward angle to allow that sink to be more vertical rather than horizontal. He was able to get that right from the get-go here tonight."

The Red Sox gave Porcello plenty of run support so when Porcello allowed a one-out double, triple, then double, plating three runs in the seventh, Farrell lifted him quickly so as not to ruin what had been an encouraging start.

"It's always hard to come back in four days and completely correct what you're trying to correct," Porcello said. "But today was definitely a step in the right direction. Most important was to get out there and compete and stop thinking about all that crap and just go out there and execute pitches."

Hector Velazquez optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room for Doug Fister on Red Sox roster

Jen McCaffrey

BOSTON - The Red Sox optioned right-hander Hector Velazquez on Friday to make room for Doug Fister, whom the club acquired on Friday.

Fister is scheduled to arrive in Boston on Saturday and will make his first start on Sunday against the Angels.

Velazquez made two appearances, one start, for the Red Sox following Eduardo Rodriguez's trip to the disabled list last month.

Velazquez entered the game in relief of Brian Johnson last week in Philadelphia after Johnson exited with injury. Velazquez pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball to earn another start in the Red Sox rotation.

Over the weekend, the righty held the Royals to two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Though Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski noted that Velazquez did a "fine job" for the club in place of Rodriguez, the opportunity to get an "established, winning pitcher" in Fister took precendce.

Sandy Leon (3 hits, HR 4 RBIs) leads Red Sox over Angels; Rick Porcello earns 1st win in month

Christopher Smith

BOSTON -- "We know Rick Porcello is a good pitcher. We've just have to straighten him out. Hopefully it starts tonight," Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said before Friday's game.

Porcello entered 0-3 with a 7.40 ERA in four starts during June. But he pitched much better here Friday against the Angels.

He allowed four runs -- but just three earned runs -- eight hits and one walk while striking out eight over 6 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox won 9-4 here at Fenway Park on the night David Ortiz's No. 34 was retired.

Porcello was sharp until the seventh inning. He allowed just the one unearned through the first six innings.

He retired Andrelton Simmons on a pop-out to begin the seventh, then allowed a weak double down the left field line to Ben Revere.

The next two balls both were hit extremely hard into the center field triangle. Martin Maldonado rocked a triple and Cliff Pennington crushed a double.

Heath Hembree then replaced Porcello and allowed an inherited runner to score.

This marked Porcello's first win since March 23.

Big day for Sandy Leon

Porcello's battery mate Sandy Leon went 3-for-4 with a homer, triple, single and four RBIs.

He bashed his fifth homer of the season in the sixth inning. It was a two-run blast to right field that gave Boston a 7-1 lead.

It traveled 385 feet and had an exit velocity of 101 mph.

Red Sox take lead in wild first

The Red Sox jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning.

Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia walked and Xander Bogaerts doubled into the gap to score Betts.

Pedroia scored on Alex Meyer's first wild pitch of the inning. Bogaerts then scored on Meyer's second wild pitch of the frame.

Hanley Ramirez hit homer No. 250

Hanley Ramirez hit his 250th career homer, wrapping it around Pesky's Pole for a 350-foot shot.

He did it in front of his mentor David Ortiz.

The Red Sox retired Ortiz's No. 34 during a pregame ceremony here at Fenway Park. Then Boston won ... over the Angels.

David Ortiz number retirement ceremony: Sights and sounds from the big night at Fenway Park

Jen McCaffrey

BOSTON - With tears in his eyes, David Ortiz addressed the crowd at Fenway Park on Friday night for the first time since his final game last season.

The Red Sox pulled out all the stops in retiring Ortiz's No. 34, just 265 days after the former designated hitter last played in a game.

Ortiz's family and friends along with Red Sox front office members joined the honoree on the field before the game. His former teammates Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez were on hand as were others with Red Sox retired numbers, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Wade Boggs.

Dustin Pedroia entered the field from the dugout to address Ortiz on behalf of the current team.

"The little guy made me cry," Ortiz said of Pedroia.

Ortiz thanked everyone in attendance and reminisced about his playing days. He told a story of taking batting practice on the field, and aiming for the retired numbers on the right field facade, never imagining his would be up there one day.

Ortiz closed his speech by saying, "I love you Boston. Thank you."

* The Worcester Telegram & Gazette

David Ortiz’s No. 34 joins other Red Sox greats

Bill Ballou

BOSTON — If David Ortiz had retained the number he had with the , the Red Sox would have been in a pickle on Friday night.

Ortiz wore No. 27 with the Twins. That was ’s number with the Red Sox and it had been retired in September, 2000. So when the Red Sox signed Ortiz in 2003, he took 34, the number of his friend and Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett.

As was Puckett’s with the Twins, Ortiz’s No. 34 with the Red Sox was retired. Fans had been asked to arrive early, and they did, which Ortiz took note of.

“In this stadium,” he said, “you know if it’s going to be a full house by the second or third inning. When I walked out on the field, there weren’t any empty seats. It was like one of our important games we played. The love and support was amazing.”

Ortiz joins Bobby Doerr (1), Joe Cronin (4), (6), Carl Yastrzemski (8), Ted Williams (9), Jim Rice (14), Wade Boggs (26), Fisk (27) and Pedro Martinez (45) on the list of players whose Red Sox numbers have been retired.

All of major league baseball has retired Jackie Robinson’s Number 42.

Yastrzemski, Rice, Boggs and Martinez joined Ortiz on the field before the game as did Sox ownership as well as former teammates Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and Dustin Pedroia and family and friends.

The retired numbers, Ortiz’s now included, are posted along the facade of the right-field roof and Ortiz recalled that he used to, during batting practice, try to hit those numbers.

“I hit No. 1 one time,” he said. “It was a good day to hit, but I never thought I had a chance to hit a ball out there. And now I’m super honored to be out there hanging with those guys.”

All of those players, for Pesky, are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ortiz is the first Sox player to have his number retired the year after he retired as an active player.

Chief among those Ortiz thanked were his dad, Enrique Ortiz, who was on the field during the presentation. Ortiz mother, Angela, is deceased.

“My dad, he was my biggest mentor,” David Ortiz said. “This guy encouraged me since I was a baby. My mom is up there in the sky looking out for me always. My dad is the guy who taught me how to do things right. He was always there appreciating me, supporting me.”

The slugger also had kind words for the people in the seats.

“There was no way I was going to take my performance to the highest level without the love you showed me every day,” he said to the crowd. “You guys were always there for us. ... I love you Boston, thank you.”

Ortiz is by far the most accomplished of the 14 Boston players to wear No. 34. Rich Garces had 34 from 1996-2002 and it was first worn by third baseman Urbane Pickering in 1931, the first season the Sox used uniform numbers.

From 1955 through ’92 it was worn exclusively by coaches and managers, one of them being Don Zimmer. The Sox have three numbers that are not retired, but are in mothballs — Roger Clemens’ 21, not worn since 1996; and Varitek’s 33 and Wakefield’s 49, neither used since 2011.

Ortiz has gone from being at Fenway Park almost every day to a much lighter presence. Some of that is because he has been very busy in retirement. Some of it is by design.

“I can never entirely walk away from the organization,” he said. “I just don’t want to get in the way of anybody or anything. Now that I’m not playing I don’t want to be a distraction, but I stay in touch with everybody. At some point I’m going to be able to help out somehow, somewhere.”

It took Martinez a few years to come back and now he is a roving assistant working on special assignments as needed. Before Ortiz’s number was retired on Friday night, Martinez spoke and reminded every one that he had something to do with recommending Ortiz to the organization.

“All the things you were able to accomplish just because I was in the right place at the right time,” Martinez said. “I don’t have enough words to say today how proud I am. I wish you success, and hope you continue to be that great ambassador to baseball that you are.”

It seems a sure thing that Ortiz will continue to be connected with baseball and the Red Sox in some capacity, and now every time he returns to Fenway Park he’ll see a very tangible reminder of his memorable days in uniform.

Fitting tribute: Big Papi's No. 34 retired

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- To the delight of the roaring Fenway , David Ortiz's No. 34 was placed on the right- field facade prior to the Red Sox's 9-4 win against the Angels on Friday night alongside the team's other legendary numbers.

The honor was an enormous one to Ortiz, who often would take mighty cuts during batting practice trying to reach those retired numbers. He remembers being successful only once, clocking one off Bobby Doerr's No. 1.

"Those guys, those numbers, they had a lot of good baseball in them and it takes special people to do special things," said Ortiz. "At the end of the day, to have their numbers retired out there, that happening to me today is a super honor hanging with those guys."

Big Papi joins Wade Boggs, Joe Cronin, Doerr, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Pesky, Jim Rice, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as Red Sox icons who have received this honor.

Fans were told to be in their seats early, and they were, as an empty seat was nearly impossible to spot during the ceremony.

"I think it was way beyond what I thought," said Ortiz. "This is a stadium where if it's a full house, you'll see it by the second or third inning. But walking out there tonight, there wasn't an empty seat. It made me feel like one of those important games that we had where the fans want to be there from the very beginning and show some love and support. It was pretty amazing."

With the theme song to "The Natural" playing over the sound system, Ortiz walked on to the field at Fenway for the first time since his career ended in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Indians last October.

The crowd chanted "Papi, Papi, Papi" as Ortiz -- decked out in a grey sport coat, a bowtie and sunglasses -- hugged fellow Red Sox legend Yastrzemski.

"A great event, great ceremony," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Well-deserved. I think any time that we put on a pregame ceremony to honor an individual, it's done with such class."

Big Papi became the 10th Red Sox player to have his number retired, and first in the first season after his playing career ended.

"I remember during batting practice, I was always trying to hit those numbers, but I never thought about having my number up there because I looked at those players with so much respect," Ortiz said. "All those people did things really, really special for this ballclub and the community. To be part of that select group, the best way to say it is I'm extremely honored to be up there with those guys."

While the prevailing emotion for the beloved slugger was joy, Ortiz did shed some tears when his close friend and former teammate Dustin Pedroia spoke to the audience.

"We want to thank you for not the clutch hits, the 500 home runs, we want to thank you for how you made us feel, and it's love," Pedroia said. "And you're not our teammate, you're not our friend, you're our family. … Thank you, we love you."

"I was trying to hold ground until I saw Pedroia," said Ortiz. "Me and Pee Wee, we go way back. He's like my baby brother. I know that what he said comes from the bottom of his heart. I couldn't hold it in no more. Pee Wee isn't that nice every day, you know? When you see Pee Wee saying some things like that, acting like that, you know it's coming from his heart. I love him so much. I really thank him for everything he said out there."

Ortiz and Pedroia were teammates from 2006-16.

"It was a special night," Pedroia said after the game. "He means a lot to us and this city. He played with a lot of guys, and he affected them in a major way. He obviously knows how we all feel about him. Just to reiterate that to him meant a lot."

There was a big contingent there to support Ortiz, including his wife Tiffany, son D'Angelo, daughter Alex and father Leo.

And perhaps most poignantly, the son and daughter of the late Kirby Puckett were present as well.

Ortiz chose No. 34 when he got to the Red Sox because of the influence Puckett had on him during his time with the Twins.

"Oh man, that was very emotional," Ortiz said. "I'm not going to lie to you, like, when I saw them coming toward me, I thought about Kirby -- a lot. That was my man, you know. It was super nice to see his kids. It was very special to get to see them, to get kind of connected with Kirby somehow, some way."

The night also reconnected Ortiz with his long-time friend Albert Pujols, who recently belted homer No. 600 and batted third for the Angels on Friday.

"It's pretty special," Pujols said. "David Ortiz has been a really good friend of mine for a long, long time, who helped me out in my career and gave me a lot of advice. I'm honored to be here tonight to celebrate with him."

The current Red Sox were thrilled to have a front-row seat for their former leader's monumental moment.

"Obviously we know what he brought to the team every day," said Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts. "Great leader. Obviously being in the lineup, he brought fear to the other team. I think it's just special to be able to say I played with somebody of his stature. It's a blessing just to be part of his legacy."

On Papi's night, Leon's 4 RBIs power Sox

Maria Guardado and Ian Browne

BOSTON -- David Ortiz returned to Fenway Park on Friday night for the first time since his retirement to watch the Red Sox affix his No. 34 atop the right-field facade during a special pregame ceremony. The Red Sox gave him even more reason to celebrate afterward, as Hanley Ramirez and Sandy Leon homered to fuel a 9-4 series-opening victory over the Angels.

Boston scored three runs in a wild first inning for Angels right-hander Alex Meyer and later seized a 5-1 lead behind Ramirez's two-run homer in the fourth. Leon, who matched his career high with four RBIs, launched a two-run shot of his own in the sixth and added a two-run double in the eighth to cap the festive night at Fenway Park.

"We've got a good team here," said Leon. "We wanted to just get a win here for David today, because he deserved that."

Meyer, who entered Friday with a 1.91 ERA in his previous six starts, lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

"I don't know if he was a little bit amped up, but he was yanking the ball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Just really had trouble getting into his rhythm and release point, and obviously paid a price for it in the first inning. We'll turn the page on this one. It wasn't a great outing for him."

Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello improved to 4-9 after giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits while walking one and striking out eight over 6 1/3 innings. Porcello cruised through the first six innings, limiting the Angels to just one unearned run, but he fell into trouble in the seventh.

"It was a little bit better location today than it has been the last couple of starts," said Porcello. "I threw some better breaking balls. I kept guys off-balance. In that regard, it was definitely better, but I've got to finish that ballgame off better than I did."

Porcello allowed a one-out double to Ben Revere, who then scored on Martin Maldonado's RBI triple. Cliff Pennington followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 7-3, prompting Boston manager John Farrell to lift Porcello in favor of Heath Hembree. The Angels pulled within three on Kole Calhoun's RBI double, but Hembree struck out Albert Pujols to end the inning, ending the Halos' best hope for a rally.

One of the few bright spots for the Angels was the return of right-hander Huston Street, who pitched a scoreless seventh in his season debut. Street, who was activated off the disabled list on Thursday, had not pitched for the Halos all year due to a lat strain. Friday marked Street's first Major League appearance since July 31, 2016.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Meyer's erratic first: Meyer struggled from the outset, issuing back-to-back walks to Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia to start the game. Xander Bogaerts followed with an RBI double, and Pedroia scored on a wild pitch, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead before they had even recorded an out. Meyer uncorked a second wild pitch during an at-bat against Andrew Benintendi, which brought home Bogaerts from third, and needed 38 pitches to get out of the inning.

"It's unacceptable," Meyer said. "You can't go out there and put two guys on before basically the game starts. It's frustrating. There's not much more to say than that. The first inning was just unacceptable."

Hanley goes yard: Meyer appeared to settle into a groove after his laborious first and entered the fourth having retired nine batters in a row. He opened the inning by inducing a flyout from Mitch Moreland but then yielded a double to Benintendi. Ramirez subsequently smashed a 3-2 curveball just inside Pesky's Pole for a two-run homer, extending Boston's lead to 5-1. Ramirez's 10th homer of the season had an exit velocity of 96 mph and traveled a projected 350 feet, according to Statcast™.

"He stayed behind a breaking ball pretty good," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "To be able to drive the ball the other way like he did, maybe gets a little benefit from Pesky's Pole, but that is besides the point. Squaring up a ball going the other way, that's what has always been a key for Hanley when he has good plate coverage, and that was the case on the breaking ball in that at-bat."

QUOTABLE

"Yeah, it was a special night. He means a lot to us and this city. He played with a lot of guys, and he affected them in a major way. He obviously knows how we all feel about him. Just to reiterate that to him meant a lot." -- Pedroia, on his speech during the Ortiz ceremony

PAREDES DEBUTS

Angels right-hander Eduardo Paredes, who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake before Friday's game, made his Major League debut after relieving Meyer in the fourth. The 22-year-old held the Red Sox scoreless in his first two innings of work before surrendering a two-run homer to Leon in the sixth. Paredes, ranked the Angels' No. 15 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, was charged with two runs on two hits with one walk and one over 2 2/3 innings. More >

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

In the bottom of the fifth inning with Bogaerts on first, Moreland hit a ground ball to Pennington at second. Pennington relayed the ball to shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who got the force out at second base. Bogaerts slid past the bag and collided with Simmons, and second-base Adam Hamari ruled the slide as interference and called Moreland out as well, making it an inning-ending double play. Farrell challenged the ruling, but the call on the field was confirmed.

In the eighth, the Angels challenged that Jackie Bradley Jr. was tagged out by Maldonado on Leon's two- run double. The call on the field was confirmed, preserving the Red Sox's 9-4 lead.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

The Red Sox improved to 10-1 this season in home games when they don't allow a home run.

WHAT'S NEXT

Angels: Right-hander JC Ramirez will start for the Angels on Saturday as they continue their three-game series with the Red Sox at 4:15 p.m. PT at Fenway Park. In four career relief appearances against the Red Sox, Ramirez has fired four scoreless innings.

Red Sox: Left-hander David Price (2-1, 5.14 ERA) will look to put together consecutive wins for the first time this season when he takes the mound against the Angels on Saturday. Price has struggled with his command recently, giving up 11 walks in his last three outings. The game is slated to start at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Ortiz: Working for Sox is 'going to happen'

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- Now that David Ortiz's No. 34 is officially retired, the attention can shift to when he will come back to work for the Red Sox.

For months, there has been dialogue between the club and Ortiz on finding a role that will be a good fit for the former left-handed-hitting slugger.

"Me and the organization, we've been talking for a while about me working with the organization," Ortiz said. "Probably [team president] Sam Kennedy can give you guys more info about it. But it's going to happen, and at some point I'm going to be able to help out somewhere, somehow, some way."

Upon taking Ortiz up on his advice and asking Kennedy, he responded, "Getting !" via text message.

Kennedy has mentioned the possibility of a hybrid role in which Ortiz can serve as a mentor/instructor to players at different levels of the organization while also doing media and public appearances.

The question isn't if Ortiz will return to the Red Sox, but when.

Knowing that he casts a large shadow, Ortiz chose not to go to Spring Training, and he hadn't been to Fenway Park for a game this season until Friday's festivities.

"Well, I could never entirely walk away," Ortiz said. "I have been around. I have been watching the games, and I have been in touch with my teammates. I have been in touch with the organization. You know, I just don't like to, you know, be in the way of anything.

"I know that me retiring, it was going to have a big impact on what we do around here. So I told myself, 'Give everybody their space,' and now that I'm not playing, I don't want to be a distraction. And I know that coming to the field sometimes, it can cause a distraction or something. I have been able to keep my distance so I'm not in anybody's way. But I stay in touch with everybody, and I have been pretty busy also, doing a lot of things."

The Red Sox appreciate the way Ortiz has handled the situation. But at the same time, they miss his presence.

"I think David's keen awareness of himself and how a team works, I think that is at the root of his decision to keep the space that he has so far," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.

Social media overflowing with Ortiz tributes

Quinn Roberts

BOSTON -- Hours before the Red Sox were set to retire David Ortiz's No. 34 on Friday night at Fenway Park, Angels manager Mike Scioscia sat in the visitors' dugout reminiscing about the first time he saw Ortiz play.

"I saw him back in 1999 in the Pacific Coast League when I was managing in Albuquerque and he was in Salt Lake City while with the Twins," Scioscia said. "You knew then that he had potential, but he's put it together almost like a fairy tale. The clutch hits, the championships, that's something that he had a major part of."

Fellow Dominican Albert Pujols may be a 10-time All-Star and have 602 home runs, but the Angels' designated hitter said he's gone to Ortiz for advice throughout his career.

"He always used to say, 'Take your jersey off and look at the back of your name,'" Pujols said. "He was like, 'What's your name?' I said, 'Pujols.' And he was like, 'Remember, you're Albert Pujols. Don't worry about the numbers. You're going to be all right.'

"I used to call him, 'Hey, man. I feel like I'm struggling with this.' And he just said, 'Bro, just look at the back of your jersey and you're going to be OK.' So I think that's something that I always kept with me." It wasn't just the Angels who were full of praise for Ortiz. A slew of former teammates, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and former Red Sox broadcaster all offered congratulations.

Sox pluck Fister off waivers, sign Peralta

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- The Red Sox added depth at two positions on Friday, acquiring right-hander Doug Fister off waivers from the Angels and signing veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta to a Minor League deal.

Fister will jump right into the rotation and start Sunday's game against the Angels.

Peralta will report to Triple-A Pawtucket and could eventually offer some help at third base, a position the

Red Sox have struggled to get production at all season.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is familiar with both players, having also acquired them during his time with the Detroit Tigers.

Dombrowski had made a run at Fister earlier this season when he was a free agent, but the Angels were able to strike a deal with him first. Fister hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues yet this season, but he went 1- 0 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Fister will fill the fifth spot in the rotation, which has been a revolving door this season due to injuries.

Fister will take the spot of Hector Velazquez, who has made two starts for Boston this season.

"One of our scouts, Eddie Bane, had seen him pitch before, recommended him, and felt he could pitch in the starting rotation at the Major League level," said Dombrowski. "We scouted by video his last outing. He became available, they decided not to add him to their Major League 25-man roster and we were in a position where we claimed him on the release waivers."

Once Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee subluxation) is ready to be activated at some point in the coming weeks, Fister could slide to the bullpen.

"A chance to add a proven Major League pitcher with a lot of experience," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "A guy that we've gotten solid reports on with his recent starts while in Salt Lake City. I think more than anything, a guy that we can add some depth in the event that something unforeseen happens again from an injury standpoint."

Pitching for the Astros in 2016, Fister made 32 starts. He went 12-13 with a 4.64 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 180 1/3 innings. Fister's best season was '14 with the Nationals, when he went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA.

Fister, an eight-year Major League veteran, and Peralta both played on the 2013 Tigers team that lost in six games to the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. Red Sox righty Rick Porcello was also on that team.

Peralta was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on June 9 after posting a .204/.259/.204 slash line with no homers or RBIs in 58 plate appearances.

"We thought it was a nice fit for us," said Dombrowski. "He had other opportunities to go to places, but I talked to Jhonny -- and also, we go back -- and I thought that in our situation with Jhonny, he had a real good spring. Really didn't play very much in the beginning of the year, had some injuries. We had some mixed reports on him during the season, regular season. We felt it was an opportunity to go to Triple-A, take a look at him."

Pablo Sandoval was expected to be Boston's starting third baseman this season, but he has struggled with offense, and health and is on the disabled list for the second time this season. Josh Rutledge and Deven Marrero have recently been sharing time at third.

Peralta is a three-time All-Star, most recently in 2015, when he had 17 homers and 71 RBIs with the Cardinals.

David Ortiz's ceremonial first pitch sailed wide of the plate, prompting some Big Papi-sized laughs

Adrian Garro

On Friday night, Big Papi had his shining moment in Boston as his iconic No. 34 jersey was retired by the Red Sox before their game with the Angels. It was an occasion well-suited and deserved for the slugger, who was a larger-than-life icon for the club on and off the field throughout his 14 seasons in Beantown.

It also set the stage for yet another classic Ortiz scene filled with laughter and smiling, something with which we're all very familiar when it comes to the man. Taking the Fenway Park mound for a ceremonial first pitch, Ortiz wound up and, well, let's just say that it wasn't a strike: description

Note the "Ahh, my shoulder!" gag from Ortiz as he laughed about the experience. But when you sit back and think about it, it isn't as if Ortiz had much experience on the mound over the years -- considering he never wound up in the 'position-player-pitching' situation.

Could you imagine if he had, though? That'd have been pretty fun.

* ESPNBoston.com

Even in retirement, David Ortiz has keen sense of the moment

Scott Lauber

BOSTON -- David Ortiz had his number retired Friday night, and once again, we were reminded of his perfect sense of the moment.

During a half-hour pregame ceremony in Fenway Park, Ortiz hit all the high notes. He thanked his former teammates, ownership and his family, but saved the fans for last. He even gave a poignant recognition to Kirby Puckett, the late Hall of Famer who inspired him to ask for No. 34 when he arrived in Boston 14 years ago.

A highlight video on the center-field scoreboard replayed Big Papi's greatest hits, from the postseason walk-offs against the to the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers and his uplifting "This is our f---ing city" speech after the .

And in the visiting clubhouse, Albert Pujols said Ortiz was the one peer he would call to help snap a slump.

"He always used to say, 'Hey bro, take your jersey off and look back at your name,'" Pujols recalled. "He's like, 'What's your name?' I'd say, 'Pujols.' He was like, 'Remember, you're Albert Pujols. Don't worry about the numbers. You're going to be all right.'" In his retirement, David Ortiz hasn't been a fixture at Fenway, and that's been a good thing for the growth and maturity of this year's Red Sox. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images Indeed, throughout his 20-year career, Ortiz was the slugger who usually had all the right things to say.

It turns out, though, he also knew how best to step away.

Friday night's 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels marked the Red Sox's 73rd game of the season and their 33rd at home. But it was the first game Ortiz attended since he walked off the field for the final time as a player last October.

That wasn't by accident.

"I just don't like to, you know, be in the way of anything," Ortiz said after the on-field festivities. "I know that me retiring, it was going to have a big impact on what we do around here, so I tell myself [to] give everybody their space.

"Now that I'm not playing, I don't want to be a distraction, and I know that coming to the field sometimes, it can cause a distraction or something. So, I have been able to keep my distance so I'm not in nobody's way."

To be clear, Ortiz wasn't asked to stay away. If anything, manager John Farrell said he held out hope the franchise icon might show up one day, ask for his No. 34 jersey and unretire. Red Sox players, if they're being honest, feel the same way.

But Ortiz always has had an acute awareness of the situation. He knew to expect a first-pitch from Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit in that 2013 playoff game. He knew what the nervous fans needed to hear before that first game back in Fenway after the Marathon attack and shelter-in-place. He knew how to prop up Pujols, one of only 16 players in history with more home runs than Ortiz.

And Ortiz knew the Red Sox, still a predominantly young team with second baseman Dustin Pedroia as its primary leader, needed to find their identity without his presence prompting questions about whether he might come back. If any of those young players has a question, they have Ortiz's phone number. But by staying away, he actually did them a favor.

"There's always a thought that he might come by, but I wasn't necessarily surprised," center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. said. "Knowing him, he just wants people to have their space. We've come so familiar with him walking in the door that it's good not to get too comfortable seeing him come in."

It has taken time, but it seems as though the Red Sox might finally be adjusting to Life After Papi.

They no longer have a consistent home run threat in the middle of the order, although they're hopeful that Hanley Ramirez, Ortiz's slow-starting protégé who hammered his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning against the Angels, might finally start heating up. And after shortstop Xander Bogaerts' early-season lament that the Sox missed Ortiz's thunder, they're generating runs in other ways and have won 20 of their past 31 games.

Without Ortiz's booming voice, the leadership alongside Pedroia is still taking shape. But at least that lingering question of whether Big Papi might make a comeback has finally disappeared despite Pedro Martinez's best effort to drudge it up again.

No. 34 has been memorialized on Fenway's right-field facade. It isn't coming down.

"I think he has a keen awareness that he could potentially keep others from flourishing with the potential thought and the question always being there -- 'Well, he is around. Is he ever coming back?'" Farrell said. "I think it speaks to David's awareness of himself, the situation, how a team functions. I wouldn't be surprised if that is at the root of his decision to keep the space that he's done."

The Red Sox thanked Ortiz for 14 years of excellence Friday night. They can thank him later for keeping his distance for the past eight months.

David Ortiz's No. 34 becomes 10th retired Red Sox jersey number

Scott Lauber

BOSTON -- For 14 years, David Ortiz looked to the right-field facade in Fenway Park during batting practice, believing he could hit a home run off the retired numbers but never thinking his would someday be among them.

On Friday night, it actually happened.

Eight months after playing his final game, Ortiz had his No. 34 retired by the Boston Red Sox in a ceremony before the team's 9-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Big Papi became the 10th person to be so honored by the Sox, joining Ted Williams (9), Joe Cronin (4), Bobby Doerr (1), Carl Yastrzemski (8), Carlton Fisk (27), Johnny Pesky (6), Jim Rice (14), Pedro Martinez (45) and Wade Boggs (26).

"Those guys, those numbers have a lot of good baseball in them," Ortiz said after the half-hour ceremony. "It takes special people to do special things and at the end of the day have their number retired up there. That happening to me today, it's a super honor to be up there hanging with those guys."

A feeling reciprocated by his fellow Dominican countryman Martinez.

"Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to give Boston the greatest gift ever: my compadre, David Ortiz,'' said Martinez, who helped convince the Red Sox to sign Ortiz in 2003, a year before their -busting title. "You are a great ambassador of the game. I don't have enough words to say today how proud I am, and how proud of a papa I feel today.

"Yes, he is Big Papi.' But I feel like 'Grampa.'''

Ortiz asked for No. 34 when he arrived in Boston before the 2003 season because he wanted to honor Minnesota Twins great Kirby Puckett. In a poignant moment, the Red Sox invited the late Puckett's family to Fenway Park and introduced them on the field.

"When I chose to wear that number, I was proud of wearing it because of the person that I was wearing it for," Ortiz said. "It was somebody that was very special to my career even if it was early in my career. He did special things, and somebody that special needs special things. When I saw [Puckett's children] coming toward me, I thought about Kirby -- a lot."

It marked the first of two times that Ortiz got emotional during the program. During brief remarks to the crowd, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia turned to Ortiz and said, "We want to thank you for not the clutch hits, the 500 home runs. We want to thank you for how you made us feel, and it's love. You're not our teammate, you're not our friend. You're our family."

As Ortiz stepped to the podium to speak, he wiped his eyes and said, "The little guy made me cry."

"Pee-Wee ain't that nice every day, you know?" Ortiz said later, calling Pedroia by a nickname he used throughout their 10 years as teammates. "When you see Pee-Wee saying some things like that, acting like that, you know it's coming from his heart. I love him so much."

Ortiz is the lone link between the Red Sox's World Series-winning teams in 2004, 2007 and 2013. He hit 483 of his 541 career homers with the Red Sox, second-most in franchise history behind Williams (521). Ortiz ranks third in franchise history in doubles (524), extra-base hits (1,023) and RBIs (1,530).

Since his retirement, Ortiz has intentionally kept his distance from the Red Sox, rarely coming to Fenway Park and not setting foot in the clubhouse in order to avoid being a distraction. But he said he has been in touch with ownership and team president Sam Kennedy about eventually taking a position within the organization.

For now, he assumes the rarified position of having his number adorn that right-field facade, territory that he says he did once reach during batting practice.

"I hit the No. 1 once," Ortiz said. "It was a good day to hit during batting practice. To be honest with you, I never thought I'd have a chance to hit the ball out there. It's pretty far."

And now, No. 34 is right there with them for a future slugger to take aim.

Red Sox claim Doug Fister off release waivers from Angels

Scott Lauber

BOSTON -- Six years after trading for Doug Fister in a deal that helped propel the Detroit Tigers to a division title, Dave Dombrowski acquired the right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Fister, 33, was claimed off release waivers Friday. He will join the Red Sox on Saturday and start Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels. Fister opted out of a minor league contract with the Angels earlier this week after making three Triple-A starts.

"Doug has been an established major league pitcher," said Dombrowski, the Red Sox's president of baseball operations. "We've been looking for starting pitching depth. He's a quality individual, hard worker. [He's in] great shape, and we think he can help us."

Fister is 77-76 with a 3.60 ERA in 212 appearances (199 starts) over his eight-year major league career. He went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 10 starts after being acquired by the Tigers in 2011. His best season came in 2014 when he went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 25 starts for the .

Dombrowski said the Red Sox attempted to sign Fister earlier this season shortly before he agreed to join the Angels. They dispatched trusted special assignment scout Eddie Bane to watch Fister in Triple-A. Fister allowed seven runs on 16 hits and five walks in 15⅔ innings for Salt Lake City.

"For us, this guy's a good pitcher," Dombrowski said. "I know his stuff wasn't quite the same as it was in the past, but Eddie scouted him. I have a lot of faith in Eddie's judgement. He said, 'Dave, he's maybe not quite the same, but he can be an effective big league starter for us.'"

Fister will slide into the rotation spot vacated when lefty Eduardo Rodriguez went on the disabled list with a right knee subluxation and presently occupied by Triple-A call-up Hector Velazquez. The Red Sox are hopeful of Rodriguez returning next month, at which point Fister would move to the bullpen, according to Dombrowski.

But Fister also provides insurance against further injuries in the rotation. Rodriguez has had repeated problems with his knee, while lefties David Price (elbow strain) and Drew Pomeranz (flexor strain) dealt with issues in spring training.

The Red Sox also agreed with veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta on a minor league contract. He will report Monday to Triple-A Pawtucket in an attempt to prove he can be a viable option for the Red Sox at third base.

Peralta, 35, was recently released by the St. Louis Cardinals after failing to record an extra-base hit in 58 plate appearances. The Red Sox have the worst OPS in the majors among their third basemen.

"We had some mixed reports on him during the season," Dombrowski said. "We felt it was an opportunity to go to Triple-A, take a look at him."

* WEEI.com

Bradford: Another David Ortiz will not be walking through that door

Rob Bradford

The ceremony started with tears, and ended with a story. Boiler plate number retiring.

The tears? Brought to the eyes of David Ortiz after some simple kind words from Dustin Pedroia.

"Very, very touched, very emotional," Ortiz said just moments after becoming the 10th Red Sox player to have his number retired by the organization. "I was trying to hold ground until I saw Pedroia. Me and Pee- Wee, we go way back. He’s like my baby brother. I know that what he said comes from the bottom of his heart. I couldn’t hold it no more. It was like when your little brother comes to you, tells you things. He’s a big part of you. There’s history. I think it’s a wonderful thing. Me and Pee-Wee, we go way back. Pee-Wee ain’t that nice every day, you know? When you see Pee-Wee saying some things like that, acting like that, you know it’s coming from his heart. I love him so much. I really thank him for everything he said out there."

The story, as Ortiz explained while living through another of his historic Fenway Park evenings, had to do with the time he first introduced himself to the retired numbers lined up along the right field facade.

"I hit the No. 1," he added. "It was a good day to hit during batting practice. But to be honest with you, I never thought I’d have a chance to hit the ball out there. It’s pretty far. My comment based on those numbers was, like, I started just getting behind the history of this organization. Those guys, those numbers have a lot of good baseball in them. It takes special people to do special things and at the end of the day have their number retired up there, so that happening to me today, it’s a super honor to be up there, hanging with those guys."

Could it have happened? Sure. Will it happen again? Maybe. (It is, according to Red Sox media relations, approximately a 460-foot shot.)

There are a lot of those on-the-field moments presented by Ortiz we think could never be duplicated, but might come around again. Baseball evolves, and great players offering unique moments will never be in short supply. These accomplishments are why he had this night, the one where No. 34 was designated as digits no Red Sox equipment manager can ever issue again. But ceremonies and home runs will keep on coming.

When you go out on a limb, however, and suggest you may never see the likes of an athlete again, it always has to be more than just what transpired between the lines. And because of who he is, and where this world of is going, this is the case with the guy who was honored Friday night at Fenway Park.

I just don't think I will see another professional athlete in my lifetime like Ortiz.

You can start with the broad brush proclamation that he is the most important player in Red Sox history. I'll stand by that premise. World Series championships. Performance. Representitive of the franchise and the city it resides in. It all adds up.

The difference-maker for me, however, will be the way he went about it. Ortiz was Ortiz, and that was perhaps the most genuine athlete I've ever been around.

Sometimes that spirit was exactly what put him in the crosshairs. That same doorway he entered into after his ceremony Friday, leading from the weight room to the interview area, was where his passion and propensity to sometimes not give a crap was on display when bursting into 's press conference in 2011. He was mad about not getting an RBI, and it didn't matter who knew it. There were plenty of other examples along the way, the likes of which he could have reeled in but showed no desire to do so.

But it was also this exact same personality trait that allowed him to step out in front of a shaken city in 2013, stand on the best-placed pulpit possible and say the exactly profanity-laced words everyone was searching for, and finally delivered by Ortiz.

Contracts. Controversies. You name it. I'm not going to lie: David Ortiz was good for business. But he was also good for baseball. The kind of good I don't know will come around again.

What will always separate Ortiz from those who will follow aren't just the quotes or the animation. It is that players just don't own the entire deal like he did. He was the original, "it is what it is," whether you liked it or not. And unfortunately the way baseball and business is merging, such an approach is seemingly no longer an option. There are too many endorsements to be garnered, with organizations serving as personality suppresants from the day each contract is signed.

He put himself out there, and backed it up to Hall of Fame levels.

Like it or not, he was going to do it, and say it, his way, with the end result landing with No. 34 hanging above Section 2. It's a combination the likes of which we could very well never experience again.

"I don't know if anyone will ever go out and do what he did," said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. "He's a unique guy. But all of it, he earned. To dominate in a big city like this ... He's special. There aren't a lot of guys like him. I can tell you that."

Not a lot. Maybe not one. That's the reality that we should remember when it comes to David Ortiz.

Dave Dombrowski: Red Sox 'open minded to help' as trade deadline approaches

Ryan Hannable

Although July 31 is over a month away, it's never too early to be thinking about the trade deadline.

The Red Sox added some depth by signing Doug Fister and Jhonny Peralta on Friday, but it appears they are open to more as the next month goes on. To that same point, the Red Sox have some of their own players coming back from injuries who could serve the purpose as mid-season additions they need.

“Well, at this point, we’re open minded to help," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Friday. "I’m not going to get into specifics at this time on what else we’re looking for. Keep an open mind on a lot of ways on which we can improve. We have guys coming back and both the spots, I think Carson Smith is very important to us and our bullpen has pitched great. The other day, we struggled but that was one of the few times we really struggled all year. I think Carson still has a chance to come back and help us this year. at third base, Pablo, we’re still hopeful. Brock Holt, we’re still hopeful, can come back."

The moves the Red Sox made on Friday were indeed about adding depth and Dombrowski added the team will not be seeking a No. 1 starter at the deadline.

"We lost the depth with [Steven] Wright, and again when you get to that July 31st, you know you're not going to add it afterwards," he said. "I also, and unlike maybe some other clubs I don't believe that we need to add a top of the rotation type starter. We have [Chris] Sale. I think David Price continues to make strides to come back. His stuff is good he's just got to get back. [Drew] Pomeranz has thrown well for us. [Eduardo] Rodriguez has thrown well. We know Rick Porcello is a good pitcher, we just have to straighten him out. Hopefully it starts tonight. So we're not, maybe other clubs are looking for that No. 1, No. 2 type starter. That's not really important for us. I think it's more important to be in a position where we add depth for us, somebody that can help us win major league games if needed."

The trade deadline is set for July 31.

Red Sox claim Doug Fister off waivers

Rob Bradford

Many were wondering if there was going to be a reunion between Dave Dombrowski and Doug Fister. Well, it's happened.

As was first reported by SB Nation, the Red Sox have claimed the 33 year old starting pitcher off waivers from the Angels, meaning they will be forced to add Fister to the 40-man roster if he accepts the assignment.

The Sox would be on the hook for the remaining $1.75 million of Fister's current deal for any time spent in the major leagues. The sinkerballer can also earn up to $1 million in incentives as a starter, and $200 as a reliever.

Fister had started three games for the Angels' Triple-A team, totaling 15 2/3 innings before opting out of his deal with Los Angeles. His best start was his first, allowing one run over five innings.

After making 32 starts with Houston last season, totaling a 12-13 record with a 4.64 ERA, Fister was forced to wait until May 20 before agreeing to his deal with the Angels. He turned in 2 1/2 solid seasons with Detroit under Dombrowski before having a career year with Washington in 2014, going 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA.

With the uncertain status of Brian Johnson, and Eduardo Rodriguez still injured Fister may be simply viewed as a depth option for the Red Sox' starting rotation. Another possibility is integrating him into the organization as a reliever, a role he manned for 10 games with some success in 2015 (2.12 ERA).

Turns out Carlos Beltran wasn't in mix to replace David Ortiz

Rob Bradford

The Red Sox designated hitter spot since David Ortiz hasn't been what they hoped.

Despite residing in the middle of the pack among American League teams in terms of batting average and OPS when it comes to the DH spot, the Red Sox have managed just 17 extra-base hits at the position, second-worst in the league.

So with the Sox' original plan not going quite as planned, it's interesting to reflect on some of the other rumored paths they were considering this past offseason. Well, as it turns out, one of the first players to be surfaced in early November as a possible replacement for Ortiz, Carlos Beltran, was really never in the mix, after all.

"There was nothing close," Beltran told WEEI.com during the Red Sox' recent series in Houston.

He added, "I think my agent reached out to them, but they were looking for something else."

Considering the perception that the Red Sox were targeting Beltran as their No. 1 option to fill their DH spot with the departure of Ortiz, it is interesting to note the 40 year old's revelation that this was not a road the Red Sox were interested in venturing down.

The Red Sox' possible interest in Beltran did make some sense considering his flexibility as a switch-hitter, and likelihood that he would be looking for a short-term contract. (He signed a one-year, $16 milliondeal with the Astros.) But, as it turns out, the Sox never were planning on playing Hanley Ramirez at first base as much as locking in Beltran would entail. Hence Dave Dombrowski ultimately prioritizing Mitch Moreland.

"I love Moreland," Beltran said. "It's the business. I understand that sometimes teams have a priority. Moreland is a great guy. They needed a first baseman and he's one of the best defenders in the game. And this year he's swinging the bat well."

Primarly manning DH for the Astros, Beltran has played in 63 games this season, hitting .236 with a .707 OPS and 10 homers.

What's next for Rafael Devers with Michael Chavis in Portland, Jhonny Peralta in Pawtucket?

Ryan Hannable

Many thought with third baseman Michael Chavis being promoted to Double-A Portland this week, Rafael Devers would follow to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Not so fast.

The Red Sox signed third baseman Jhonny Peralta to a minor league deal, so it looks like Devers will stay in Portland for a little bit longer, although president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said before Friday's game he is "real close" to Triple-A.

"Well, he's real close," Dombrowski said. "He's really close. He's really continued to make strides. I think probably for him it's really not more than the maturity aspect of playing day in and day out as far as at the plate, what you're trying to do, what they're trying to do to him, trying to expose weaknesses that he has in making those adjustments. He's got 14 home runs at the middle of the season for someone that's 20 years old there, hit .300, he's played well defensively at third base. Probably not an opportune time right now with the Sandoval-Peralta situation coming about, but I'd say he's real close.

"As you know, we've moved Chavis to Double-A. That's not quite as much because in Chavis' case, he, with his arm situation coming back, he's really only playing third base 2-3 days a week. We figured Rafael would play five days a week over there and Chavis would play, say, two and DH the rest of the time."

It would appear for the time being Peralta-Sandoval will share third base in Pawtucket and Devers-Chavis will share in Portland with whoever isn't playing getting starts at DH. This likely will only occur for a few weeks because then the Red Sox will be forced to make decisions with Peralta and Sandoval. Sandoval could be ready to be re-added to the major league roster, or even Peralta. The organization could also be in a position where they need to cut bait with one of the two just because of the number of players at the position and Devers needing to continue to develop.

Time will only tell, but it appears at the very least Devers is knocking on the door of Triple-A. He's batting .297/.355/.569 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs this season.

* CSNNE.com

Ortiz: ‘A super honor’ to have number retired by Red Sox

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — The Red Sox have become well known for their ceremonies, for their pull-out-all-the-stops approach to pomp. The retirement of David Ortiz’s No. 34 on Friday evening was in one way, then, typical.

A red banner covered up Ortiz’s No. 34 in right field, on the facade of the grandstand, until it was dropped down as Ortiz, his family, Red Sox ownership and others who have been immortalized in Fenway lore looked on. Carl Yazstremski and Jim Rice, Wade Boggs and Pedro Martinez.

The half-hour long tribute further guaranteed permanence to a baseball icon whose permanence in the city and the sport was never in doubt. But the moments that made Friday actually feel special, rather than expected, were stripped down and quick.

Dustin Pedroia’s not one to belabor many points, never been the most effusive guy around. (He’d probably do well on a newspaper deadline.) The second baseman spoke right before Ortiz took to the podium behind the mound.

“We want to thank you for not the clutch hits, the 500 home runs, we want to thank you for how you made us feel and it’s love,” Pedroia said, with No. 34 painted into both on-deck circles and cut into the grass in center field. “And you’re not our teammate, you’re not our friend, you’re our family. … Thank you, we love you.”

Those words were enough for Ortiz to have tears in his eyes.

“Little guy made me cry,” Ortiz said, wiping his hands across his face. “I feel so grateful. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to have the career that I have. But I thank God even more for giving me the family and what I came from, who teach me how to try to do everything the right way. Nothing — not money — nothing is better than socializing with the people that are around you, get familiar with, show them love, every single day. It’s honor to get to see my number …. I remember hitting batting practice on this field, I always was trying to hit those numbers.”

Now that’s a poignant image for a left-handed slugger at Fenway Park.

He did it once, he said — hit the numbers. He wasn’t sure when. Somewhere in 2011-13, he estimated — but he said he hit Bobby Doerr’s No. 1.

“It was a good day to hit during batting practice,” Ortiz remembered afterward in a press conference. “But to be honest with you, I never thought I’d have a chance to hit the ball out there. It’s pretty far. My comment based on those numbers was, like, I started just getting behind the history of this organization. Those guys, those numbers have a lot of good baseball in them. It takes special people to do special things and at the end of the day have their number retired up there, so that happening to me today, it’s a super honor to be up there, hanging with those guys.”

The day was all about his number, ultimately, and his number took inspiration from the late Kirby Puckett. Ortiz’s major league career began with the Twins in 1997. Puckett passed away in 2006, but the Red Sox brought his children to Fenway Park. They did not speak at the podium or throw a ceremonial first pitch, but their presence likely meant more than, say, Jason Varitek’s or Tim Wakefield’s.

“Oh man, that was very emotional,” Ortiz said. “I’m not going to lie to you, like, when I saw them coming toward me, I thought about Kirby. A lot. That was my man, you know. It was super nice to see his kids. Because I remember, when they were little guys, little kids. Once I got to join the Minnesota Twins, Kirby was already working in the front office. So they were, they used to come in and out. I used to get to see them. But their dad was a very special person for me and that’s why you saw me carry the No. 34 when I got here. It was very special to get to see them, to get kind of connected with Kirby somehow someway.”

Ortiz’s place in the row of 11 retired numbers comes in between Boggs’ No. 26 and Jackie Robinson’s No. 42.

Roasted: Ortiz apparently thought Pedroia’s real first name was Pee Wee

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — It took until 2015, apparently, but David Ortiz now knows Dustin Pedroia’s full name.

The couple days leading up to the jersey retirement ceremony tonight for Ortiz have been packed. Around lunch time Thursday, Ortiz had a street near Fenway Park named after him — a bridge wasn’t enough — the street formerly known as Yawkey Way Extension. (It’s between Brookline Avenue and Yawkey Station.) On Friday morning, he was at Logan Airport where JetBlue Gate C34 was designed with a new theme to honor Ortiz.

Ortiz was roasted at House of Blues on Thursday, joined on stage by Pedroia, Rob Gronkowski and a handful of actual comedians. Bill Burr was the biggest name among the professional joke-tellers. It was a charity event to benefit the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which helps to provide lifesaving surgeries for children.

All the comedians — Lenny Clarke, Sarah Tiana, Anthony Mackie, Josh Wolf, Adam Ray (a young man dressed up as an old Yankees fan) — ripped on everyone on stage, including Pedroia. Naturally, Pedroia was mocked for being short over and over and over.

When he took the podium, Pedroia said it was a good thing the height of the microphone was adjustable. If he had to stand on his wallet, he said, he’d be up to the roof.

Most jokes were not suitable for print or broadcast. But the story Pedroia told about being in the on-deck circle when a catcher needed a ball once was a highlight. It's from just two years ago.

“So I had already played with David for, I don’t know, nine years?” Pedroia said. “And I hit right in front of him for nine years.”

The Red Sox were playing the Indians at home. The umpire had to use the bathroom and the ball rolled near Pedroia. So the catcher said hello to Pedroia, using the second baseman’s first name.

“David walks over and goes, what the [expletive] did he call you?” Pedroia said.

“I said, ‘Dustin,’” Pedroia said.

Ortiz was confused. “’Why’d he call you that?’” he said.

“I go, that’s my [expletive] name,” Pedroia said. “He goes, 'Oh, is that right?’

"I’m like, ‘Yeah, bro. I’ve had 1,600 games with you. They’ve actually said it 5,000 [expletive] times: now batting, No. 15, Dustin Pedroia.’”

“I thought it was Pee Wee," Ortiz went.

“This is dead serious,” Pedroia said. “Now the umpire comes back — I’m standing there, I got to hit...and I’m looking at him, ‘You thought my parents would name me [expletive] Pee Wee?’

“And he’s just looking at me, and we’re having a conversation. The umpire’s yelling at me, the catcher’s laughing at me because he can hear kind of what he’s saying.”

No jersey retirement speech will be that funny.

Red Sox claim RHP Doug Fister off waivers, sign INF Jhonny Peralta

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — They have the right idea, if not yet the right personnel.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has brought on a pair of former Tigers in an effort to help the Red Sox’ depth.

It’s hard to expect much from righty Doug Fister — who mostly throws in the 80s these days and is to start Sunday — or from Jhonny Peralta, who’s going to play some third base at Triple-A Pawtucket. Fister was claimed off waivers from the Angels, who coincidentally started a three-game series with the Red Sox on Friday at Fenway Park. Peralta, meanwhile, was signed as a free agent to a minor league deal.

Neither may prove much help. Fister could move to the bullpen when Eduardo Rodriguez is ready to return, Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. The Sox hope E-Rod is back in time for the All-Star break.

That’s assuming Fister is pitching well enough that the Sox want to keep him.

But at least the Sox are being proactive looking for help, and it’s not like either Peralta or Fister is high- risk.

"Doug has been an established major league pitcher," Dombrowski said. "We’ve been looking for starting pitching depth. Really traced an unusual situation, because coming into spring training at that time, [Fister was] looking for a bigger contract guarantee at the major league level, and we didn’t feel we could supply at the time because we didn’t have a guaranteed position. We continued to follow him. ... we sent people to watch him workout and throw batting practice in Fresno where he lived. We continued to stay in contact with him.

"We finally felt we were going to be able to add him to our major league roster, we made a phone call and he had agreed the day before with the Angels on the contract. They said he was in a position where he had made the agreement and signed a major-league contract, agreed to go to the minor leagues, but he had an out on June 21 if they didn’t put him on the big league roster. We scouted him two outings ago. One of our scouts, Eddie Bane, had seen him pitch before, recommended him, felt he could pitch in the starting rotation at the major-league level, that we should be interested in him."

Fister, 33, threw 180 1/3 innings last year with the Astros, posting a 4.64 ERA. He hasn’t been in the big leagues yet this season.

Said one American League talent evaluator earlier this year about Fister’s 2016: “Had a nice first half. Then struggled vs. left-handed hitters and with finishing hitters. No real putaway pitch. Has ability to pitch around the zone, reliable dude.”

Does uncertainty for Carson Smith mean Red Sox need bullpen help?

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — Tyler Thornburg’s gone for the season and there’s really no telling when the other set-up man the Sox expected to help in 2017, Carson Smith, will be back.

The Sox have already made inroads, if minor ones, in bolstering their third-base situation and rotation. Smith’s situation leaves a question of whether the Sox will need to pursue help in the bullpen as well.

There's not an easy answer to settle on at this point.

For one, the timetable with the right-hander Smith — whose shoulder has bothered him on the way back from Tommy John surgery — isn’t clear.

“He's in a no-throw [time] through the weekend,” Sox manager John Farrell said Friday afternoon at Fenway Park. “He'll be reevaluated on Monday to hopefully initiate a throwing program. He's responding favorably to the treatment. He continues to rehab as he's been. We have not closed the book in a sense on anything Carson can contribute this year.”

What does this year mean, though? Will they be able to know by July, by the trade deadline?

“Still too early to tell,” Farrell said. “We thought he was days from starting his rehab assignment after his last live BP session in New York [on June 6]. Unfortunately, that was put on hold for the time being. To get into any kind of timeframes, timetables, I don't know that any of us can predict that right now.”

The Sox relievers have done extraordinarily well without either Thornburg or Smith. Can that continue without reinforcements? The bullpen’s ERA entering Friday was 2.94, the second best mark in the majors. Its innings total, 217, was the second. lowest in the majors.

So it’s not like the entire group is about to collapse from fatigue. But a guy like Joe Kelly, for example, isn’t someone the Sox want to use back to back.

It’s a young group and ultimately an inexperienced group. But Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has already fallen into the trap of trading for premium set-up men twice, and that’s a dangerous road to pursue again. Perhaps a smaller trade makes more sense.

“Well, at this point, we’re open minded to help,” Dombrowski said when asked if he was targeting either third-base or relief help. “I’m not going to get into specifics at this time on what else we’re looking for. Keep an open mind on a lot of ways on which we can improve. We have guys coming back and both the spots, I think Carson Smith is very important to us and our bullpen has pitched great. The other day, we struggled but that was one of the few times we really struggled all year.

“I think Carson still has a chance to come back and help us this year.”

* NESN.com

Red Sox Notes: David Ortiz’ No. 34 Retirement Ceremony Was Special For Boston

Cameron McDonough

BOSTON –Fenway Park hosted a lot more than a baseball game Friday night. The Boston Red Sox honored former designated hitter David Ortiz, the man whose heroics helped bring three World Series titles to Boston, by retiring his No. 34 before the Sox’s 9-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

The ceremony had multiple memorable moments, including when Kirby Puckett’s family came onto the field, as well as Big Papi’s story about trying to hit the retired numbers on the right-field facade during batting practice.

And for those who were closest to the action in the Red Sox dugout, it was a special event to watch.

“I think any time that we put on a pregame ceremony to honor an individual, it’s done with such class,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “You see the number of different people in his past representing him. I think those two players, former being Pedro (Martinez) and then what Pedey (Dustin Pedroia) had to say about David, I think a touch of class by both guys. But a well-deserved night for David.”

And his former teammates felt the same way.

“Unbelievable. The Red Sox, man, unbelievable about everything,” Hanley Ramirez said. “Like I said he deserves it, and I’m happy for him. … David’s my family. He’s my mentor. He’s my big brother. He’s everything. What I saw today when he was on the field crying, that made me cry. So he was really, really happy. Like I said, what the Red Sox did, unbelievable.”

Ramirez, who since has taken over the DH duties for the Sox, even went deep on Ortiz’s big night with a key two-run home run, although he forgot to do Big Papi’s signature celebration. Let’s take a look at a few more notes from Red Sox-Angels.

Red Sox Wrap: Boston’s Offense Explodes In 9-4 Victory Vs. Angels

Joshua Schrock

David Ortiz hit countless home runs at Fenway Park during his Boston Red Sox career. So it’s only fitting that the Red Sox hit a few homers on the night his number was retired.

Hanley Ramirez and Sandy Leon each blasted two-run home runs as the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-4 at Fenway Park on Friday night.

The blasts came in support of Rick Porcello, who snapped his recent streak of bad starts by working into the seventh inning and keeping the Angels off balance for much of the night.

The right-hander began to stumble in the seventh inning, but it undoubtedly was a step forward for the Red Sox ace.

The Red Sox improved to 41-32 with the win, while the Angels fell to 38-39 with the loss.

Here’s how it all went down.

GAME IN A WORD

Uplifting. The Red Sox honored Ortiz before the game by hanging his number from the right-field facade, and got a throwback performance from their Cy Young winner during the game. Porcello was strong through the first six innings before being chased in the seventh.

IT WAS OVER WHEN….

Leon ripped a two-run home run over the right-center field fence in the sixth inning. The round-tripper gave the Sox a six-run lead, and the Angels were unable to come all the way back.

ON THE BUMP

— Porcello turned in his best performance in quite some time. The righty tossed 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out eight and walking one. Porcello looked like the reigning American League Cy Young winner for the first six innings, but the Angels finally got to him in the seventh.

The Angels scored their first run off the right-hander in the fourth inning. Albert Pujols led off the inning with a double to center. Porcello almost wiggled out of the jam, but Andrelton Simmons laced a single to left field. While Andrew Benintendi’s throw beat Pujols to the plate, Leon was unable to hold onto the ball, allowing Pujols to score the Angels’ first run.

L.A. cut into Boston’s lead in the seventh when Martin Maldonado drove in a run with a triple off the center field wall. Cliff Pennington followed with an RBI double to the triangle in right-center field to trim the lead to four and end the night for Porcello. — Heath Hembree relieved Porcello and surrendered an RBI double to Kole Calhoun. — Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless eighth inning. — Blaine Boyer pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX

— The Red Sox got to Angels starter Alex Meyer early. Meyer issued back-to-back walks to the first inning, and Xander Bogaerts made him pay. Boston’s shortstop ripped a ringing double to left-center field to score Mookie Betts and give the Sox runners at second and third with no outs. Dustin Pedroia and Bogaerts both scored on wild pitches during the inning, giving the Red Sox an early three-run lead.

— Ramirez blasted a two-run home run around the Pesky Pole in the fourth inning to stretch Boston’s lead to four.

— The Red Sox went yard again in the sixth inning when Leon launched a two-run blast over the right- center field wall.

— Leon did more damage in the eighth inning when he ripped a two-run double down the left field line to give Boston a five-run lead.

— Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

— Leon went 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT

Friday was all about Big Papi.

UP NEXT

The Red Sox will continue their three-game series with the Angels on Saturday night. David Price will get the ball for Boston and be opposed by J.C. Ramirez. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.

David Ortiz ‘Was Proud Of Wearing’ No. 34 Because Of Kirby Puckett, His Inspiration

Cameron McDonough

BOSTON — There were numerous special moments during David Ortiz’s number retirement ceremony Friday, but one of the most emotional for Big Papi was when the family of the man who inspired him to wear the No. 34 in the first place stepped onto the field.

Before Ortiz ever wore the No. 34, it belonged to former Minnesota Twins great Kirby Puckett. And Ortiz, a former Twin himself, was inspired to wear that number because of the late Puckett, who died in 2006.

And on the night when Ortiz’s number officially was retired at Fenway Park, members of Puckett’s family were there, too.

“That was very emotional,” Ortiz said in a press conference after the ceremony. “When I saw them (Puckett’s family) coming toward me, I thought about Kirby a lot because that was my man. It was super nice to see his kids because I remember when they were little kids. once I got to join the Minnesota Twins, Kirby already was working in the front office. So, they used to come in and out to see him. But their dad was a very special person to me, and that’s why you saw me carry the No. 34 here.”

Ortiz said he had “no idea” when he chose the No. 34 that he one day would be standing where he stood Friday night. But that wasn’t why he made the decision to don that number in the first place.

“When I chose to wear that number, I was proud of wearing it because of the person that I was wearing it for,” Ortiz said. “It was somebody that was very special to my career even if it was early in my career. Whoever played with Kirby, whoever worked with Kirby, whoever was around him when he came to work in the front office, they had nothing but love for him.

“When I first started wearing that jersey, that number, I was just happy and proud to be because of him. Never thought about how my number would be hanging up there with all those legendaries.”

But that’s exactly where it is, just like Puckett’s No. 34 at Target Field.

David Ortiz Used To Try To Hit Red Sox’s Retired Numbers — Now He Has One

Cameron McDonough

BOSTON — There used to be a time when David Ortiz only could dream about hitting a baseball far enough to reach the Boston Red Sox’s retired numbers on the Fenway Park right-field facade. Now, his No. 34 is up there for the next future Boston great to take aim at.

The former Red Sox designated hitter returned to Fenway Park on Friday, as his No. 34 joined the legendary numbers on the right-field facade when the Sox officially retired it during a pregame ceremony prior to hosting the Los Angeles Angels.

During that ceremony, Big Papi told a pretty interesting story about those retired numbers and how they used to fit into his gameday routine for home games.

“I remember hitting batting practice on this field, I always was trying to hit those numbers,” Ortiz said. “But I never thought about having my number up there, because I look at those numbers with so much respect. And I know every single player whose number is hanging up there did things really, really special for this ball club and this community.

“… I’m extremely honored to be out there with those guys.”

Big Papi later admitted during a press conference after the ceremony that he never thought he’d reach those numbers because of how far they are, but he proved himself wrong when one day he reached Bobby Doerr’s No. 1.

But trying to hit those numbers was about more than just having some fun during batting practice.

“But my comments based on those numbers was like I just started getting behind the history of this organization,” Ortiz said. “And those guys, those guys, those numbers … it takes special people to do a special thing. So at the end of the day, to be able to have your number retired and up there, that happening to me today, it’s a super honor to be up there with those guys.”

So, go ahead and take your shot, current and future Red Sox. The No. 34 awaits you.

* Associated Press

Ramirez, Leon homer, Red Sox beat Angels 9-4 on Papi's night

BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz became one of the most celebrated players in Red Sox history during his storied 14-year run in Boston.

On the night he returned to Fenway to have his No. 34 take its place among the franchise's other legends, his former teammates did their part to make sure it was a memorable one.

Hanley Ramirez and Sandy Leon hit two-run homers and the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-4 on Friday to cap a night in which Ortiz's number became the latest retired at Fenway Park.

It was the 250th career home run for Ramirez, a good friend of Ortiz who was also born in the Dominican Republic. Leon finished with three hits and four RBIs.

Ramirez said he played with Ortiz on his mind.

"He's my mentor, my big brother. He's everything," Ramirez said. "Today when I saw him on the field crying, it made me cry."

He said his home run was in Big Papi's honor.

"Definitely, definitely, definitely," he said. "I was going to do his thing (pointing his hands in the air) but I forgot."

The homers helped provide a nice cushion for Rick Porcello (4-9), who gave up four runs and struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings to earn the victory. It was the 13th straight start Porcello has gone at least six innings.

"It was vintage Porcello," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "A couple of pitches that cut his night short, but he was crisp throughout."

This could serve as a needed confidence boost for Porcello, who had been 0-4 with a 7.92 ERA in his previous five starts, allowing 47 hits and 27 earned runs.

He had command of his pitches early, holding the Angels scoreless until the fourth, when a catching by Leon at home allowed Albert Pujols to cross the plate.

Porcello said he isn't sure if he has completely turned a corner yet after his slow start, but he has felt better in his recent starts.

"Today was a step in the right direction," he said.

Alex Meyer (3-4) allowed five runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Los Angeles scored three runs in the seventh, but cooled off after Porcello left.

Boston got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, scoring on an RBI double by Xander Bogaerts and then getting two more runs off wild pitches by Meyer.

Ramirez gave Porcello a 5-1 lead in the fourth with his two-run shot to right field.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: INF Josh Rutledge was a pregame scratch with left hip soreness. Dustin Pedroia, who was only expected to play on an emergency basis, returned to the lineup a day earlier than expected after missing three straight games with a bruised back.

SLOW START

Meyer said he felt like the back-to-back walks he surrendered to the Red Sox first two hitters set a tone for his night.

"It's unacceptable," he said. "You can't go out there and put two guys on basically before the game starts."

Manager Mike Scioscia said he thinks he was too amped up, but Meyer disagreed.

"I didn't feel like my heart was ever racing," he said.

But he said he must avoid get behind the leadoff hitter 3-0, like he did against Mookie Betts Friday.

"It's really not acceptable you just have to be better than that," he said.

HONORING PAPI

Ortiz wiped away tears from his eyes as the Fenway crowd serenaded him with chants of "Papi! Papi! Papi! during the pregame ceremony to retire his No. 34.

Pedroia addressed the Fenway crowd on behalf of Ortiz's former teammates during the ceremony and said his impact stretched beyond their experiences together on the baseball field.

"You're not a friend, you're not a teammate, you're our family," Pedroia said.

UP NEXT

Angels: RHP JC Ramirez will be making his 14th start of the season and seventh on the road in 2017. He made four relief appearances last season against Boston. He's tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in two career games at Fenway.

Red Sox: LHP David Price held the Angels to eight scoreless innings the last time he faced them in late July last season. He is 5-5 with a 3.26 ERA over 13 career starts against Los Angeles.

Red Sox retire No. 34 for David Ortiz

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are honoring David Ortiz by retiring his No. 34.

The ballclub is holding a ceremony before its game against the Los Angeles Angels. Ortiz will be the 10th Red Sox player to be so honored.

Ortiz retired at the age of 40 last year. He left the game as the No. 2 home run hitter in Red Sox history and also was in the top 10 in almost every other major offensive category.

Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Pedro Martinez, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice joined Ortiz on the field before the game, along with family members of the other players whose numbers have already been hung on the Fenway facade.

Ortiz took the field to a raucous ovation.

Red Sox retire No. 34 for Ortiz: 'This is his (pause) city'

BOSTON — David Ortiz stepped up to the microphone, wiped the tears from his eyes and waited for the sold-out Fenway crowd to shout "Papi!" a few more times.

The Red Sox stood at the top step of their dugout. The Los Angeles Angels tipped their caps. Friends and family and dignitaries from two countries lined the infield. Three World Series trophies glistened in the twilight sun.

Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Pedro Martinez, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice — whose numbers preceded Ortiz's to the Fenway facade — were the only ones who could know how he felt.

"It's an honor to get to see my number right next to all those legends," Ortiz said before his No. 34 was unveiled along the right-field roof boxes on Friday night.

"I remember hitting batting practice on this field; I always was trying to hit those numbers. But I never thought about having my number up there," he said. "Every player that is up there did things that are very, very special for this ballclub and this community."

Ortiz retired last season as one of the most productive offensive players in franchise history, and the single- most important player to wear a Red Sox uniform in a century. With three World Series titles — including the 2004 championship that ended an 86-year drought — Ortiz dragged the ballclub out of its dynasty of disappointment and gave a fresh generation of Bostonians reason to fall in love with the Red Sox anew.

But it was Ortiz's defiant speech after the Boston Marathon bombings that cemented him as a civic hero and helped prompt the Red Sox to retire his number less than a year after he retired. As a nod to his foul- mouthed challenge to those who would test the city's resolve, Ortiz took the microphone on Friday with the welcome, "This is his (pause) city."

"There wasn't an empty seat," Ortiz said afterward. "It made me feel like one of the important games we had where the fans wanted to be there from the very beginning and show love and support. It was pretty amazing."

Ortiz is the 10th Red Sox player to have his number retired, and he was joined by four of the others, plus family representing the ones who couldn't be there. Also recognized during the ceremony were representatives from the Dominican Republic, the city of Boston, and family of Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, from whom Ortiz adopted both his No. 34 and his ever-present smile.

"Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to give Boston the greatest gift ever: my compadre, David Ortiz," said Martinez, who helped convince the Red Sox to sign Ortiz in 2003, a year before their curse-busting title. "You are a great ambassador of the game. I don't have enough words to say today how proud I am, and how proud of a papa I feel today. "Yes, he is 'Big Papi.' But I feel like 'Grampa.'"

Current second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Ortiz's teammate on the 2007 and '13 World Series champions, came out of the dugout to be enveloped in a giant bear hug.

"You're not our teammate, you're not our friend. You're family," Pedroia said. "And it will be like that until the day you die."

With that, Ortiz broke out the handkerchief.

"Man, the little guy made me cry," he said. "Wow."

Much like it was for his farewell tour last season, the ballpark was decked out in Ortiz's honor, from a five- story silhouette hanging from the concourse ramp outside to the No. 34 mowed into the outfield grass. Fans were given posters with the No. 34, and it was painted onto both on-deck circles.

After both the Dominican and U.S. national anthems — each accompanied by a giant flag covering the — Ortiz took a ball from ex-teammate Tim Wakefield and threw (somewhat wildly) to former catcher Jason Varitek.

The beloved slugger shook hands with virtually everyone on the field as he left it, while a video played from the careers of the other 10 players with their numbers retired. (Jackie Robinson's No. 42 has been taken out of service by every team in baseball.)

Even Angels manager Mike Scioscia, the victim of Ortiz's heroics in three different postseasons, said he enjoyed watching. "What he's done, in a lot of cases, unfortunately, came at our expense," he said after the Red Sox won 9-4.

Although the Red Sox have offered Ortiz a spot in the organization, he told reporters that he has stayed away from the team since his retirement to avoid being a distraction.

"I told myself, 'Give everybody their space,'" he said. "But it's going to happen."

* The Los Angeles Times

Alex Meyer and Angels can't keep it under control in 9-4 loss to Red Sox

Pedro Moura

Alex Meyer threw, turned, and stared at Pesky’s Pole in disbelief, his face illustrating the indignation he felt, at himself, at this game, at his night he knew was soon to be finished.

He had flung six pitches to Hanley Ramirez in Friday’s fourth inning at Fenway Park, each tempting enough for Ramirez to consider swinging, none overly so. In a 3-and-2 count, he fired a slider away from the Boston designated hitter, who seemed to anticipate it.

Ramirez’s swing carried the ball 350 feet to right field, far enough in this relic of an earlier era to be a two- run home run.

“That,” Meyer said, “was the last thing I was thinking was gonna happen.”

In the aftermath of the Angels’ 9-4 loss, Meyer had come to understand that the Red Sox had watched ample film from his last start. Surely, he reasoned, they saw how often and how he used his slider and planned their response.

In that outing, a dominant victory over Kansas City, Meyer had tamed his season-long wildness, focused on firing his fastball anywhere in the zone and spinning some 50 sliders. The Royals swung at 27 of them and missed 18, both career highs.

Friday, Meyer threw 40 breaking balls, his truthfully a blend between a slider and curveball. The Red Sox swung at 14 of his hybrid offerings and missed only two, which discouraged him.

“I didn’t feel like I had any strikeout stuff,” Meyer said.

Doug Fister set to face Angels days after getting claimed by the Red Sox But the seeds of his displeasure sprouted an hour earlier, when the 6-foot-9 right-hander’s first three pitches of the game were balls. With his fifth pitch, he walked Mookie Betts.

“That’s three straight games now where I’ve been at least 3-and-0 on the first guy of the game,” Meyer said. “You have to be better than that.”

Betts stole second base while Meyer walked Dustin Pedroia on eight pitches. Xander Bogaerts next punched a run-scoring double into left, and a second run scored on Meyer’s first wild pitch. Boston’s third run scored on Meyer’s second wild pitch of the inning. He expended 38 pitches to get out of it.

“The stuff tonight was just, honestly, stupid,” Meyer said. “It’s just unacceptable. You can’t go out there and, basically before the game starts, just put them out there on first and second.”

Meyer needed 27 pitches to retire the Red Sox in order the next two innings. After the Angels managed a run in the top of the fourth on an Albert Pujols double and Andrelton Simmons single, the pitcher’s struggles returned.

Mitch Moreland lined out to right and Andrew Benintendi doubled before Ramirez’s drive soared toward the pole. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Sandy Leon followed with singles, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia pulled Meyer for right-hander Eduardo Paredes.

On the first pitch of Paredes’s major league career, Deven Marrero tried to squeeze in a run. The stout Paredes adeptly fielded it and flipped home for an out. The Angels soon escaped the inning, and Meyer escaped further damage to his earned-run average. He bore only the five runs in his 3 1/3 innings. Paredes gave up two in 2 2/3 innings, both on Leon’s sixth-inning homer.

Huston Street handled the seventh, his first major league inning in 11 months. Covertly, he checked his velocity readings during his perfect inning. He was pleased to see 88, 89 and 90 mph register on the scoreboard.

“At that range,” Street said, “I know I can get outs.”

Down six runs in the seventh, the Angels rallied for three against tiring Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. Martin Maldonado tripled before Ben Revere, Cliff Pennington and Kole Calhoun each doubled.

The Angels (38-39) could produce nothing else, while the Red Sox managed more offense in the eighth against oft-plagued left-hander Jose Alvarez. The Angels notched as many hits as their opponents and more with runners in scoring position, but they did not have wildness on their side.