The Boston Red Sox Tuesday, September 10, 2019 * The Boston Globe Healthy sign: David Ortiz delivers first pitch Julian McWilliams In a wild 24 hours for the Red Sox that centered around the firing of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski late Sunday night, for a moment, the dark clouds that hovered this year over Fenway Park cleared. David Ortiz made his first public appearance Monday evening to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Red Sox’ series finale against the Yankees. Former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek caught the throw. Three months to the day since he was shot in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz jogged onto the field after he was described by the park announcer as “the symbol of resilience, strength, triumph and love . our one and only, Big Papi.” Afterward, Ortiz addressed the crowd in front of the pitcher’s mound. “Good evening,” said Ortiz, who was met with cheers. “First of all, I want to thank God, for giving me a second opportunity of my life and being able to be here with all of you. I want to thank the Red Sox — my real family — they always have been there for me, supporting me no matter where I’m at. They were the first ones to support me. Thank you very much. “I want to thank all of you for all the prayers. I want to thank my former teammates for being there for me also. All of them came over to check up on your boy. “Also, I want to thank the Yankees, allowing my boys to come over and check up on Big Papi. CC [Sabathia], you showed a lot of love. Thank you very much. God bless you all. Go Sox.” Related: These photos show David Ortiz throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park Ortiz then made his way off the mound and embraced those that were standing in front of the home dugout. He then sat down in the first row of the stands, alongside his wife Tiffany, and watched the game. “I think any time you see a brother or teammate in good spirits, it’s a positive thing,” Jackie Bradley Jr. said after the game. “We’re excited to see him. He’s special to all of us.” Said Eduardo Rodriguez: “It was amazing. I was walking out from the bullpen to the dugout and I turned to the big screen and saw he was out there. It was a really good moment for all of us.” Red Sox manager Alex Cora shared the same sentiments. “I always said that David is kind of like a rock star baseball player, that vibe, it’s amazing,” he said. “I’m glad that he was able to come here and hang out with us.” Ortiz was shot June 9 at a bar in the Dominican Republic. He spent weeks undergoing rehab at Massachusetts General Hospital, but was seen recently in France earlier this month with Red Sox owner John Henry. Christopher Price of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Eduardo Rodriguez’s work lost in shuffle as Sox officially eliminated from AL East race Julian McWilliams It was at the London Series in late June that manager Alex Cora noticed the difference between his Red Sox team and the New York Yankees. The Sox were swept in a two-game set as the Yankees posted a combined 29 runs. The Red Sox racked up 21 runs, but it was the Yankees who controlled the tempo and pace of the series. “That’s a good offensive team,” Cora said then. “Their attention to detail is phenomenal. It was eye- opening the last two days from top to bottom. It’s just stuff that the game will dictate and will scream at people and it’s right there. Right now they’re a lot better than us. So, we need to get better.” Yet Tuesday, not even 24 hours after president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was fired, the Yankees’ 5-0 win eliminated the Sox from American League East contention. The Sox were 5-14 against the Yankees this season. New York’s 14 wins over the Red Sox matched their most victories in one season against them since 1961. After the game, Cora’s message was similar to the one he had in London: Nearly three months later, the Yankees were still better. “They’re doing a lot of things better last year,” Cora said. “And we’re not playing at the same level as them. I do believe DJ [LeMahieu] changed the complexion of their lineup. With two strikes, they put the ball in play.” Eduardo Rodriguez, however, helped to keep that dominant lineup in check. Rodriguez remained effective, just as he’s been all season. He gave up just five hits and one run — an Austin Romine homer in the fifth — but fell to 17-6 on the season. Rodriguez struck out nine and walked but one in his six innings, as his ERA fell to 3.73. “I was doing well throwing every pitch,” Rodriguez said. “Especially the life on my cutter. I was able to throw it where I want it.” Rodriguez commanded the zone from the start, striking out Aaron Judge for the second out of the first inning, and, later, fanned Edwin Encarnacion to end the frame. He racked up two more strikeouts to begin the second inning on Luke Voit and Brett Gardner. Throughout the outing, he challenged the inner-thirds of the strike zone to lefties, something Judge mentioned recently as an area of improvement for the lefthander. “That’s a great outing right there,” Cora said. “His stuff was good. This guy has been very consistent for us. You see him growing each outing.” The Yankees made him work, though, as he threw 117 pitches. The Yankees finally broke through in the fifth when Romine, the No. 9 hitter, belted a solo shot to right field. Darwinzon Hernandez took the ball from Rodriguez in the seventh and the Yankees didn’t waste any time piling on runs against the rookie. Gio Urshela led off by homering over the Green Monster. After a strikeout, Romine doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on LeMahieu single’s between shortstop and third. Cora went deeper into his bullpen, summoning Trevor Kelley. A Judge double and Gleyber Torres sacrifice fly made the score, 4-0. The Yankees tacked on an insurance run in the ninth against Mike Shawaryn. Meanwhile, the Sox offense couldn’t get anything going against James Paxton (13-6). The lefthander allowed four hits and three walks, with seven strikeouts in 6⅔ innings. Zack Britton, Cory Gearrin, and Tyler Lyons finished the seven-hit shutout. The Red Sox’ underwhelming play this season wasn’t in the plans. They are eight games out of a wild-card spot and it will take a miracle for them to make the postseason. Meanwhile, the Yankees will take the division, which will be their first since 2012. How the tables have turned. It was in 2018 that the Sox clinched the division at Yankee Stadium and spilled champagne on the rug in visitors’ clubhouse. They did it again when they beat the Yankees in the ALDS in New York. They dominated them when it mattered. In some ways this season, the Yankees have done the same. “They didn’t let us [get back into it],” Cora said of the Yankees. “Last year we didn’t let them. This year they didn’t let us.” Throwing plans for David Price hit detour Julian McWilliams Red Sox lefthander David Price was supposed to play catch Monday, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the plan isn’t for him to pitch this week. The Sox haven’t said they are shutting down Price just yet, but don’t expect them to rush the lefthander out there considering where they are in the standings. “We’ll see how it goes,” Cora said. “He’s feeling better. Obviously, with the calendar, we’re running out of time. You always want guys to finish healthy for the season, and if we find ways that he can go out there and perform we will. At the same time, we have to be smart about it. David is a huge part of what we’re trying to accomplish in the upcoming years.” Betts hitting stride Mookie Betts, the 2018 MVP, has caught fire. Betts hit his 27th home run Sunday night and is on pace for 30. He could become the sixth player with at least 30 homers, 40 doubles, and 5 triples in as many as three seasons. The other five players are in the Hall of Fame: Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg, Chuck Klein, and Rogers Hornsby. Betts went 1 for 5 in Monday’s 5-0 loss and has reached base via hit or walk in his last 23 games. Betts leads the league with 128 runs and is on pace for 145. The only Red Sox player to score 140 or more runs in a season was Ted Williams, who accomplished the feat three times (franchise-record 150 in 1949). North of the border For the upcoming series in Toronto, the Sox will go with Nate Eovaldi and Jhoulys Chacin for the first two games, with the finale still to be determined. Eovaldi is coming off his best outing as a starter this season, in which he allowed just a run in five innings. “He was good the last one,” Cora said.