BOSTON - Classic baseball strategy presented itself in the third inning Wednesday night and John Lackey scoffed at it. A runner at second, a powerful left-handed hitter coming up. The chance to intentionally walk him and go after the righty, a double play gets you out of the inning and keeps the game in reach.

Never happened.

Even if the two hitters involved in that scenario are David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, logic says to throw four wide ones and take your best shot. After all, Ramirez had played just six games in September after sitting out the previous 24 with a strained left oblique. Ortiz, meanwhile, was coming into the playoffs with a .396 average, nine homers and 27 RBI in the season's final month.

But Lackey went ahead and pitched to Ortiz and his second pitch, a hanging curveball, ended up in the seats, making the Red Sox's 4-0 victory that much easier.

Lackey said he wasn't trying to throw Ortiz a strike -- "Kind of an unintentional intentional walk, I guess," he said -- but even throwing anything near the plate in that at-bat seemed dangerous. And it was.

"We didn't want to give in to him there," catcher Mike Napoli said. "He's a good hitter and got a pitch to hit. I mean, he's Big Papi."

That sort of awe only helps the Red Sox in this series. With 12 Angels making their postseason debuts, including Napoli, pitching to postseason-tested Ortiz is a kiss of death. That homer tied him with Jason Varitek for the club's most in the postseason, with nine, and his 30 playoff RBI are a franchise record.

Ortiz came into the game with a .385 average and two homers against Lackey while Ramirez had batted .435 with four homers vs. the tall Texan.

True, the numbers can tell the entire story, but with the Angels trailing just 1-0, they were still in the game at that point. Squeezing out a run against Josh Beckett Wednesday would be like trying to squeeze water from a rock, although the Angels did have a man on third in the first inning. A one-run game can turn on any type of play.

It just happened it turned on a curveball left in the zone.

"I don't care if Manny is not swinging like he usually does," bench coach Ron Roenicke said. "He can hit at anytime. Anytime you walk somebody to get to him, it's not good."

Neither was that pitch.

"We've seen that combination together for quite some time and it's as good as it gets," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "You've got a left-right balance and you've got two guys that get the ball out of any part of any ballpark. Those guys are good. They have to make good pitches."

Reach Matt Hurst at mhurst@PE.com