``I'm sorry, guys,'' Oritz said. ``I don't feel like talking right now. Just put down, `Papi stinks.' ''

In a season chocked with frustration, Ortiz yesterday reached a nadir. He went 0 for 7 and left 12 men on base, which tied a team record, in a 5-4, 12-inning loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He was the last out of an inning four times. He struck out three times, including with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning.

Ortiz, while batting third all year, has still not hit a home run - something 305 major league players had done entering yesterday's games - in 150 plate appearances. His batting average fell to .208. The fact everyone remembers is Ortiz's shocking lack of even one home run. Yesterday, a simple walk would have sufficed, and Ortiz could not deliver.

``I know he feels it,'' said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. ``He's pressing. He's trying too hard. It was a rough day for him.''

The roughest moment came in his last act of the day. Ortiz strode to the plate in the top of the 12th inning with a chance for redemption. Already 0 for 6, having stranded nine runners, Ortiz came up with the bases loaded and two outs, a situation he has thrived on for years.

He faced Jason Bulger, who throws his fastball 95 miles per hour. Ortiz looked at a ball, then flailed, far too late, at a heater. Bulger and Ortiz battled until the count went full. Bulger twirled a 78-m.p.h. curveball to the plate. Ortiz started to swing then stopped, but the bat head continued. He tapped the ball a few feet in front of home plate. Catcher Jeff Mathis scampered from behind the plate, scooped the ball, and threw to first. With the game on the line, Ortiz had failed to put the ball past the pitcher's mound.

Ortiz's friends around Baseball - his gregarious nature has earned him many - have come to his aid. After an ESPN camera showed him sitting in the Red Sox' dugout Sunday night dejected, holding his helmet in his lap, he received between 50 and 75 text messages from fellow players. The Red Sox have joined the chorus of supporters.

``I mean, we're pulling for him, obviously,'' said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. ``We're hoping the corner is right there, that it's going to turn. Everyone goes through stuff like this. I've definitely been through something like that. We're pulling for him.''

Ortiz's toughest moment may have been his last at-bat, but that only continued a trying day. In the 10th inning, Jacoby Ellsbury reached second base with one out. In the clubhouse, Francona, who had been ejected earlier that inning, held out hope.

``We've got Pedey and David hitting,'' Francona said. ``I thought we were going to win.''

Pedroia did all he could. He blasted a pitch to center that Torii Hunter tracked down. Up came Ortiz. He saw one pitch from Jose Arredondo, and he grounded it weakly to first base. He had stranded the go-ahead run on second base in the 10th inning. And the worst was yet to come.

Ortiz's problem has been identified. He has been cheating by looking for fastballs, which leaves him susceptible to breaking pitches and makes him off balance. He no longer mashes balls after exploding out of his crouch. His bat has slowed, too.

For now, Ortiz remains the Red Sox' designated hitter and their third batter in the lineup. Capable hitters surround Ortiz in the order, ensuring he'll have chances to blast out of his slump. The question is, how much longer can the Sox afford to wait?

Adam Kilgore can be reached at akilgore @globe.com