teammates to show more determination. In addition to Millar, the team's offense was so deep that eventual 2003 batting champion Bill Mueller was 7th in the lineup behind sluggers Manny Ramírez and the newly acquired David Ortiz. Ortiz started the season as a platoon player with Mueller, Shea Hillenbrand, and Jeremy Giambi, with the four collectively playing first base, third base, and designated hitter. However, Hillenbrand became upset with his lack of playing time. GM Theo Epstein, noting that Mueller was hitting very well in his limited role, traded Hillenbrand to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Byung-hyun Kim. Receiving much more playing time following the trade, Ortiz settled down and contributed significantly in the second half of the season. Epstein's decision ended up greatly benefiting the team, as the Red Sox broke many batting records and won the AL Wild Card on September 25 with a victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway. In the 2003 American League Division Series, the Red Sox rallied from a 0–2 series deficit against the Oakland Athletics to win the best-of-five series. In extra innings of game three at Fenway pinch hitter Trot Nixon belted a homer into the center field bleachers to give the Sox victory. Derek Lowe, who had become a starter after several years as a relief pitcher, returned to his former role to save Game 5, a 4–3 victory, by striking out the A's Terrence Long with the tying run on third base. The team then faced the New York Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series. In the deciding seventh game Boston took a 4–0 lead on home runs by Nixon and Kevin Millar. But two Giambi homers made it 4–2. Boston led 5–2 thanks to a shot by David Ortiz in the eighth inning, but Pedro Martínez, who was still pitching into the 8th inning, allowed three runs to tie the game, including a two-run bloop double by Jorge Posada. The Red Sox could not score off Mariano Rivera over the last three innings and eventually lost the game 6–5 when Yankee third baseman Aaron Boone hit a solo home run off Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. Some placed the blame for the loss on manager Grady Little for failing to remove Martínez in the 8th inning after some observers believe he began to show signs of tiring. Others credited Little with the team's successful season and