BOSTON — David Ortiz joined the 300-homer club Thursday night, reaching the milestone with a two-run shot off Kansas City starter Luke Hochevar in the first inning.

“It’s great, man,” Ortiz said. “It’s something you would like to get done in your career. It means a lot. But the main thing is you want to hit it when the team is winning.”

He wasn’t able to that Thursday, as the Sox lost to the Royals, 8-6. Nevertheless, he became the first player since Manny Ramirez (August 2002) to hit his 300th homer with the Red Sox.

 “It was a good swing,” said manager Terry Francona. “After that at-bat, you saw him go to his next at-bat maybe feeling too good [and he struck out]. I think he wanted to hit it 40 rows back. When the ball is coming off his bat like that, that’s good for us. He’s back to being about as dangerous as anybody in the league.”

Ortiz now has 11 this season after a horrid start. It took him until May 20 to hit his first homer of the year.

“I’ve been swinging good. I’m where I like to be and right now it’s not like I’m thinking about anything except see the ball and hit it,” said Ortiz. “You guys saw my frustration at the beginning of the season when I was trying to do things and nothing was happening. Right now I’m trying to relax and let things happen.”

They are.

Ortiz’s two RBI Thursday night also places him in sole possession of eighth place on the Sox’ all-time list with 775. He is one hit shy of 1,000.

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Although the Red Sox bullpen gave up the lead as Boston eventually lost to the Royals, there was one bright spot.

Rookie Daniel Bard continues to impress, as he threw the ball with conviction and determination during his 1 1/3 perfect innings. The hard-throwing right-hander struck out three and 14 of his 17 pitches were strikes.

“Bard was tremendous,” said Francona.

It was Bard’s fourth consecutive scoreless outing (5 1/3 innings) and during this stretch he’s recorded 10 strikeouts. He’s only allowed two earned runs in his last eight games and has a 1.80 ERA in that span.

jmcdonal@projo.com