Ortiz expected back April 19.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Bill Ballou

ORIOLES 8, RED SOX 5

FENWAY PARK, BOSTON

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

Baltimore 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 8 6 0

Boston 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 5 2

Winning pitcher: O'Day (1-0). Losing pitcher: Hanrahan (0-1). Att: 30,862.

When the Red Sox play host to the Kansas City Royals on April 19, David Ortiz may be their DH.

Ortiz has been sent to Pawtucket to continue his rehab from sore heels. Ortiz had been at extended spring training in Fort Myers and is scheduled to play for the PawSox tonight.

"In the last four or five days, he seemingly has turned a corner," manager John Farrell said. Ben Cherington said that Ortiz's physical issues seem to have finally been solved and the move to Pawtucket is designed to let him get some at-bats and get his timing and swing back.

"The arrow has been pointing up for a few weeks now," the GM added. "Certainly, we're a better lineup when he is in the middle of it."

The streak is over

Attendance was 30,862 as the sellout streak officially ended on Wednesday night. It was 820 games long, including the postseason, beginning with a 12-3 victory over Texas on May 15, 2003.

"It's a reflection of an amazing era in Red Sox history," team CEO Sam Kennedy said. Asked why it ended, Kennedy said, "Obviously, there was the team performance last year and the collapse the year before that."

Connected and disconnected facts associated with the streak:

Average attendance was 36,605. The largest crowd was 38,525 on Aug. 16, 2011. The smallest was 32,643 on May 24, 2003. Including playoff games, Boston's record was 503-317 (.613).

David Ortiz is the only Red Sox player who was with the team for the entire streak. Bruce Chen, Brandon Lyon and Derek Lowe are the only other players still in the majors who were on the Boston roster when the streak began. The Sox went through four managers - Grady Little, Terry Francona, Bobby Valentine and John Farrell - but the nation had only two presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

The Dow Jones average was 8,713.14 when the streak started and at 14,802.24 when it ended, an increase of about 70 percent.

Ortiz had 163 home runs at Fenway during the streak, the most of any Sox batter. Tim Wakefield won 63 games, most of any Boston pitcher. The Red Sox employed 279 players during the streak.

While the sellout streak is over, three other attendance streaks are in play. Fenway has played host to 830 straight crowds of at least 30,000; there have been 1,136 crowds in a row of at least 20,000...