Millar Returns & Papi Breaks Out

Kevin Millar made his return to Fenway Park last night, and was greeted with a standing ovation in his first at-bat. He then promptly singled to left off Curt Schilling. It was another memorable night at Fenway, as the man who was affectionately called "KFC" by many Red Sox fans (for his Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials) had two hits, including scoring the tying run in the fifth inning. Millar was very happy to come back, and was seen hugging and chatting with his former teammates during the pregame workouts. Before the game with reporters, Kevin compared the early morning flight to Boston on Friday to the time he returned from St. Louis with his triumphant teammates the morning after winning the 2004 World Series. "There's a lot of memories," he said.

It was nice to see the ovation Kevin got from the Fenway Faithful, and he acknowledged it by waving to the crowd. Compare that to the reception Johnny Damon got last Monday night. Granted Millar returned under a whole different set of circumstances, but he also returned with a very different team.

Curt Schilling went seven innings last night, giving up three earned runs and getting his fifth win. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a quick 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save. David Ortiz broke out of an 0-for-11 slump with a huge bases-clearing double in the sixth to give the Sox the lead they would not relinquish. Mike Lowell continues to be a doubles machine, getting three last night to raise his total to an AL-leading 16, and his batting average is now at .350. And it was also good to see Alex Gonzalez getting a clutch double in that sixth inning that tied the game and led to Papi's heroics later that inning.

I'm off to Fenway Park for tomorrow's game. This will be my 16th game live at Fenway Park (my first being in 1986). I'll be sitting in the right field grandstand with a couple of friends. I'm looking forward to giving Kevin Millar a standing O in his first at-bat (I hope he plays and doesn't get the day off). My next posting will be on Monday, and I'll let you know how it all goes then.