Boston's biggest bopper shockingly had only one RBI in eight postseason games, but all that changed in the Red Sox's historic Game 5 comeback Thursday night.

Big Papi blasted a shot heard 'round the baseball world in the bottom of the seventh inning that accounted for a three-run homer and effectively breathed life back into the Olde Towne Team.

"We didn't need a single, we needed a 'damage' hit right there. And Papi came through and did some damage," said teammate Sean Casey. "It brought a lot of confidence back into the dugout, and it brought us right back into the game.

"He's a big-game, big-money player, and you knew if he had enough chances he was going to come through with something. You could almost feel right there that was a big spot, and it was do-or-die. He's come up with a ton of those hits in his career."

The Sox scored four more runs following Ortiz's blast and won in the bottom of the ninth, but the Sox continue to derive their bravery and fearlessness from having Ortiz in the middle of their batting order. Ortiz leads the Sox in every conceivable career playoff category, including homers (12), RBI (42), runs (38), hits (58) and walks (39) and seems as if he's poised to again toss the rest of the team on his strong back.

"We never give up," said David Ortiz. "We keep on fighting. We don't give in."

Asked about the team's mindset going into Game 6, Ortiz said, "When you have somebody down you can't let them breathe."

The Red Sox suddenly are breathing deeply.

RED SOX 8, RAYS 7: The Sox were down 7-0 and facing elimination heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but home runs by DH David Ortiz and RF J.D. Drew brought the Sox back and a Coco Crisp RBI single in the eighth tied the score. RHP Justin Masterson pitched an inning of relief to pick up the win, and Drew won it in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off RBI single. The win marks the largest comeback in postseason history since the Philadelphia A's came from eight runs down to beat the Cubs in the 1929 World Series.