Ortiz produces another hit drama

They are the moments he is best known for. He is the master of the dramatic, the player who makes the fans hold their breath, the man who keeps everyone - teammates included - on the edge of their seats.

When Red Sox slugger David Ortiz comes to the plate, he generates unique electricity in Fenway Park.

Last night, Ortiz stepped up in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and one man on - Julio Lugo, who had walked. The Red Sox trailed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3.

Righthander Al Reyes threw a 3-and-1 pitch, and Ortiz connected. The ball took off toward right field, but was Delmon Young going to catch it?

Young ran toward the Pesky Pole, but when he realized the ball wasn't drifting that far right, he reversed his field. But he had turned around to such an extreme that he couldn't make the grab, and the ball just made it into the seats. One member of the Tampa contingent said it looked like the "Delmon Young field sobriety test."

The Red Sox, led by closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had pitched the top of the ninth, came charging out of the dugout to surround Ortiz, who earned his first walkoff homer of the season as Boston came from behind to win for the second straight night, 5-4.

Ortiz said he was by no means sure it was going out.

"I don't know, man, it was too high," said Ortiz, who also had a three-run homer in the third inning to pull the Sox within a run. "That was a good pitch by my boy Reyes. The wind was kind of crazy tonight a little bit, but it worked the right way."

It was the 10th walkoff homer for Ortiz with the Red Sox. His two homers give him 31 for the season, plus 104 RBIs. It marks the fifth straight season he has reached 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and he tied Jimmie Foxx for the second-most consecutive 30-homer seasons in team history.

With the Yankees on deck this weekend, Ortiz said the Sox just want to keep playing well.

"They've been playing really good," he said. "If you lose this game and then they win tomorrow, it changes the whole thing. The way they've been playing, you want to make sure you win some games. We have a lot of guys swinging the bat pretty good, and you've got to give them credit, too."

For Lugo, who is in his first year with the Red Sox, it was a chance to have a firsthand look at Ortiz's heroics.

"He's amazing, man, he's the best," said Lugo. "You can't describe it, he's just the best in that situation. That's why they call him Big Papi, because he can carry the team, just by himself. He won that game right there."

Lugo played a key role in the inning with his leadoff walk on a full count.

"We got to put the pressure on them," he said. "We had to put the tying run in scoring position."

As it turned out, Ortiz scored them both with one swing. Now it's time to face New York again.

"We've got to get as many wins as we can," said Lugo. "It doesn't matter who we play."

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at Marrapese@globe.com.