David turns Goliath again; Ortiz walk-off homer wins it.

Byline: Bill Ballou

BOSTON - Progress is a great thing in general, but there are times when turning back the clock is just what the HMO ordered.

Like at last night's Red Sox game, when Boston got a good-old-days performance from starting pitcher Tim Wakefield and a vintage night at the plate from David Ortiz.

The two veterans combined to lead the Red Sox to a 3-2 victory over the White Sox, Boston's third win in a row, fourth in its last five games, and seventh in its last nine.

The Red Sox picked up a game on the Rangers in the wild card race. Texas lost to the Yankees, so Boston's lead is 2-1/2 games

Wakefield, pitching for the first time since the All-Star break, went seven splendid innings, though he did not get the win. All three Red Sox runs came via solo home runs. Ortiz had the first one and the last one.

The last one came with one out in the bottom of the ninth, an old-fashioned game-ending homer, something Ortiz used to specialize in, but something that hadn't happened since Sept. 12, 2007, versus Al Reyes of the Rays.

From his arrival here in 2003 through 2006, Ortiz hit nine game-ending home runs, including two in the postseason. In the three years since, he has two.

"It feels good," Ortiz said. "It's great. We have a lot of guys going good now, and it's not the same guys doing it every night."

The homer was a no-doubter, a high line shot that curved deep into the seats between the foul pole and the right-field corner. Ortiz watched the ball take off, then threw his hands up in the air and began his victory trot.

What was going through his mind as he rounded the bases?

"I was thinking," he said, "about the beating I was gonna get when I got to home plate. But it's cool."

With Manny Ramirez gone, Ortiz has found a new ally in Victor Martinez, who said that he could see "the look" in Ortiz's eyes when he headed for the batter's box in the ninth.

"Every at-bat," Ortiz said, "(Martinez) will be up there screaming in my face. I like it. It gets me in the mood."

Ortiz also homered in the second inning. Alex Gonzalez hit one in the sixth.

Wakefield left with a 2-1 lead, but Ramon Ramirez gave up a home run to pinch hitter Scott Podsednik leading off the eighth. Ramirez struggled to get two outs, but he did, then Daniel Bard came in and overpowered the White Sox for four outs and wound up getting his first major league win.

Manager Terry Francona thought Wakefield was, in a word, phenomenal.

"I don't know how he did it," Francona said. "That was more than you could possibly expect. ... He was fantastic."

Wakefield gave up only six hits, two of them infield hits. He walked just one and threw 73 strikes out of 94 pitches, a remarkable percentage for a knuckleballer.

"I had better command than I did in Pawtucket," he said, "obviously, throwing a lot of strikes with a lot of movement. That kind of set the tone early in the first inning."

The issue with Wakefield was never his arm. He is battling a sciatic nerve irritation and it hampers his mobility so, sure enough, in the first inning, the White Sox hit two soft infield grounders, the "swinging bunt" type. One went for a hit. The other, a grounder to first by A.J. Pierzynski, went for an out when Dustin Pedroia hustled over to cover the bag.

Otherwise, Wakefield's limp was never an issue. Nor, as it turned out, was Martinez's inexperience at catching the knuckler. He didn't have a passed ball.

"For the first time catching me in a game situation with hitters up there, he did a phenomenal job," Wakefield said. "I'm very happy for him."

A happy Wakefield, and a happy Ortiz, both on the same night.

Just like the old days.

NAME: BOSTON RED SOX