Dramatic Home Run By David Ortiz May Have Saved The Red Sox's Season
The home run was the third of the playoffs for Ortiz and his 15th career postseason home run. It was also one of the biggest home runs in a career filled with dramatic home runs.
Prior to the home run, the Red Sox had just a 7.5% chance of winning the game according to Fangraphs.com and avoiding a 2-0 deficit in the series before heading to Detroit. According to Elias Sports, this was the 474th game in postseason history in which a team trailed by at least five runs. But with the help of Big Papi's grand slam, the Red Sox became just the 15th team to overcome the deficit.
If Boston loses game two, they would have faced a nearly impossible task of winning the series with the next three games in Detroit.
In addition to possibly saving Boston's World Series hopes, Big Papi's home run will also be remembered for Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter flipping over the wall and the reaction by a Boston police officer stationed in the Red Sox bullpen (you can see the full video below)...
Here is the full video of the play. The Red Sox radio call can be heard at the 1:40 mark...