J.D. Drew runs to first as he watches his drive allow Kevin Youkilis to score the winning run in the ninth inning.

The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

St. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the sleepy-eyed Red Sox opened their clubhouse yesterday afternoon at Tropicana Field, a swarm of media members filed into the large room and spotted J.D. Drew alone in one corner.

Drew was speaking on his cell phone. When he saw the crush heading toward him, he spun around and disappeared into a trainer’s room. He never appeared again.

No matter. Drew is letting his bat do his talking and it is speaking loudly at the most critical times for the Red Sox. The latest example came Thursday night in Game Five of the American League Championship Series. With a clutch two-run home run in the eighth inning and a walk-off single to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Drew continued to cement his reputation as a player capable of delivering the biggest hits at the biggest moments.

“What can you say? He knew what he had to do and he stepped up and he did it,” said teammate Jed Lowrie. “That’s the ultimate clutch performance right there. The guy hasn’t played in a month, essentially, and he’s been huge for us in the postseason.”

Drew missed most of September because of a herniated disk in his back and he still isn’t a guaranteed part of manager Terry Francona’s lineup every day. But when he is, he’s shown he can come up big. His Game Five heroics join two other postseason moments that highlight Drew’s years with the Red Sox. In Game Two of the ALDS in Anaheim this month, he blasted a game-winning, two-run home run that gave the Sox a giant leg up in that series.

Last October, he played a big role in helping the Red Sox dig out of a 3-1 hole in the ALCS against Cleveland. In Game Six, he blasted a first-inning grand slam off Fausto Carmona that sent the Sox off and running to a 12-2 win. Boston won Game Seven, 11-2, to earn a trip to the World Series.

If the Red Sox are to return to the Series next week, they’ll need Drew’s bat in Games Six and Seven here at the Trop. His back woes can still flare up anytime, but Francona says Drew is growing stronger by the week.

“It was kind of iffy if he was even going to come back, but not only has he come back — he’s gotten huge hits,” Francona said. “The more he keeps playing and the more he gets his legs under him, he’s obviously a very dangerous hitter and he’s been able to show that.”

As the Red Sox celebrated late Thursday at Fenway, you never would have picked Drew to be the star of one of the greatest wins in franchise history. He had his young son, Jack, in the clubhouse as players buzzed around him packing for the trip to Tampa. The 32-year-old Georgia native seemed more content to play doting dad than baseball star, but his quiet, reserved demeanor is accepted among the Red Sox for what he is.

“You’d have to be brain dead not to enjoy something like that. He was excited, but this guy shows it in different ways,” said hitting coach Dave Magadan. “You can tell when he’s got that look in his eye that he’s fired up for what happened. He was excited in his own way.”

Magadan also scoffed at the reputation that’s often attached to Drew as a player who doesn’t fight through nagging injuries or doesn’t care about his team.

“Sometimes his personality can make people think he doesn’t care or he’s too lackadaisical, but, believe me, he cares,” Magadan said. “I’ll never forget seeing his face last year when he hit that grand slam off Carmona. You could see the piano lift off his shoulders. He cares.”

Magadan, Francona and all of Drew’s teammates regard see him as a stud athlete with a silky sweet swing. When he steps to the plate, good things can be right around the corner. Magadan said that Francona holds game-changing players in high regard.

“Tito says when you have guys like David (Oritz), J.D. or Mike Lowell, they’re guys who can change the complexion of a game with one swing of the bat.”

“J.D. is a talented player. He can impact the game at any time,” teammate Dustin Pedroia said. “He doesn’t show emotion that much but he was real excited (Thursday) and that was definitely huge for us. When he’s swinging the bat like that, our offense is so much more explosive.”

kmcnamar@projo.com