David Ortiz pauses to admire his three-run homer in the sixth inning of Wednesday's game.

Journal photo / Ruben W. Perez

BOSTON -- It looked like the David Ortiz of old was standing at home plate, admiring as the ball flew towards right field. The serene post-swing pose, the upturned chin following the little white sphere, the flick of the bat to the ground as it became obvious to 37,981 people that this one was not coming back, even through the stiff Fenway wind.

The ball landed past the visitor's bullpen, a home run that was vintage Ortiz for more than just the aesthetics. This one mattered. This three-run blast broke open a 1-1 tie, giving the Red Sox a lead that they would need every bit of to beat the A's, 5-4, Wednesday night.

"It's not how far you hit it, it's what situation, and what location you hit it in," Ortiz said.

Big Papi lumbered around the bases, gave the requisite high-fives to Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia at home plate, and then retreated into the dugout. Manager Terry Francona said it was as good a ball as Ortiz had ever hit, especially considering the wind.

"He hit that ball, that's as good as he's hit a ball. The wind was pretty strong," Francona said.

Ortiz said Francona was dead wrong. He's hit it a lot harder than that.

"Hell no. He's lying," Ortiz laughed, stressing the difference between good and great. "That was a good one... I hit it good. Just good."

Unlike most of his recent home runs, there were no demands for a Fenway curtain call; Ortiz no longer needs such well-intentioned pity. With 10 home runs on the year, he is back to being a respected slugger, not a cause for hand-wringing.

"I'm feeling good, and happy to be helping this ballclub like I've been doing for years," Ortiz said.

Now, Ortiz can shift his focus to his next home run, which will be his 300th. There has been so much talk of how long it took him to hit home runs 290-to-299 that there's been little fanfare given to this career milestone. Ortiz has quietly hit a number of minor milestones lately: 1000th RBI last month, 11th straight year of double-digit home runs tonight, a double away from tying Manny Ramirez for 14th on the Red Sox' all-time list, one hit away from 1,000 with Boston.

Ortiz is now hitting .224 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI. Nearly every home run, and more than half the RBI, have come since the beginning of June.

"For him to weather the storm for two months, and then come back and do what he's doing now is incredible," said shortstop Nick Green, whose missed tag-up at second base made the three-run cushion Ortiz provided essential.

If there's a time to get hot, the 33-year-old Ortiz said, it's now, at the start of the second half of the season. This is the period when pennants are won, and he knows that his bat will be most valuable down the stretch. So he's pleased that he's hammering when he thinks it matters most.

"It's good, it puts you in a good mood for the second half. The second half is when it matters for real," Ortiz said.

dbarbari@projo.com