Papi ties, passes Yaz on all-time homer list

TORONTO -- David Ortiz has long been known as one of baseball's premier power hitters, and on Monday night, the Red Sox slugger continued to climb through the ranks in the game's record books.

For a moment in the fourth inning -- after he cracked his 452nd career homer to deep center field off Blue Jays reliever Brad Mills -- Ortiz stood with Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski at No. 36 on the all-time home run list.

Then in the fifth, he broke a tie with Yastrzemski as he went deep for a second time, his team-high 22nd of the season to right field to give Boston a 13-1 lead. It was his third multi-homer game of the season and 44th of his career.

"We're getting good offensive approaches over the past 10 games or so," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "... There's been good energy throughout and when David is doing what he's capable of, it's the hub of what our offensive is."

Big Papi offered only one postgame comment as he brushed past reporters following the Red Sox's 14-1 victory over the Blue Jays in the series opener.

"I'm going to Jamaica," Ortiz said, a reference to comments he made over the weekend and his plans to "get hotter than Jamaica in the middle of August."

For his teammates, Ortiz's successes come as no surprise. Mike Napoli, who hit back-to-back home runs with Ortiz in the fifth, said the hard-hitting designated hitter is Hall of Fame material.

"I get a good view of it," said Napoli, who hits behind Ortiz in the batting order. "If he plays enough, I think he will [hit 500 homers]."

With 35 career homers at Rogers Centre, Ortiz trails only Alex Rodriguez for the most in Toronto as a visitor (36).