Is it time to eat some crow about David Ortiz?

Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz and Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird watch the three-run home run hit by Ortiz in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 14, 2010 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Duane Burleson

David Ortiz continued his recent hot-hitting on Friday night, slugging two mammoth home runs and driving in four runs in a 7-2 win over the Tigers.

The first home run, a three-run shot off the struggling Max Scherzer in the first inning, traveled an estimated distance of 459 feet to right-center field, according to HitTracker, good enough for one of the longest home runs hit in the major leagues this season.

Of course, it wasn’t long ago that most of us were ready to give up on the 34-year-old slugger. After all, he batted just .143 (8-for-56) with one home run and four RBI in April. But after his big night on Friday, Ortiz is hitting .333 (11-for-33) with five home runs and 11 RBI over nine games in May. He enters Saturday’s action with a season-high .213/.283/.483 batting line.

In turn, Ortiz has some words for those who doubted him, via Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald:

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “Swinging the bat - seeing the ball and hitting it, man. You know? There’s people that know a lot about the game, they think they got everything figured out. Just tell them that the season is not over after April. It’s over after October.”

Noted. Ortiz is certainly showing signs of life here, but what I’m most interested to see is whether Red Sox manager Terry Francona will push his DH platoon to the side on Saturday and start Ortiz against the left-hander Dontrelle Willis.