BOSTON -- Exactly one hour before Thursday's game against the Yankees at Fenway Park, the Red Sox' rejuvenated slugger, David Ortiz, grabbed a knife from his locker.

This was serious business.

He had an intimidating scowl on his face as he threw a heavy cardboard box to the floor and sliced it open with one quick jab of the blade. Inside were four spanking new Nakona bats. The usual tools of his trade are a two-tone black and tan bat. His new ones are tan with a mix of charcoal, green and purple and were neatly wrapped in plastic. Ortiz grabbed one and put a white-knuckled grip on it, like he was becoming one with the piece of wood.

Whatever he was doing in his pregame routine certainly did the job for him and the Red Sox Thursday night.

He provided an early spark for Boston with his 35-ounce piece of lumber with a solo homer off Yankees starter CC Sabathia in the bottom of the second inning. Ortiz crushed an opposite-field shot on the first offering from the left-hander and deposited it into the Monster Seats.

"When I hit the ball out like that, it's a good sign that I'm staying through the ball. I'm swinging a lot better at the plate."

It was his fourth homer of the season, and third in the last five games. He's always hit safely in five of the last six games, going 7-for-20 (.350) with five RBI.

"It's good to see David, the biggest thing for David is to go the other way sometimes," said teammate Kevin Youkilis. "He can get pull happy a little bit, but it's great to see him hit an opposite-field home run. When you hit the ball the other way you tend to get hot, so hopefully he can get hot in the next few days and carry it on."

When Ortiz' recent struggles got to a point where the fans began to chant his name during plate appearances, and once he began to show signs of life in his bat, the fans wanted more. Each time he's hit a home run, they have cheered for a curtain call. Ortiz has given it to them.

"You can tell the fans get a kick out of it. I don't think David knows what to do, so you just grab him and get it over with," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "Like I said before, I hope there are like 35 more."

After the Sox' victory, Ortiz was asked if he liked his new bat.

"Oh yeah," he replied. "It's a big-boy bat."

Maybe it means the return of Big Papi.

jmcdonal@projo.com