Amid Tragedy, Baseball Returns to Boston

Shelby Mustain

Baseball resumed in Boston this weekend after the tragedy at Monday’s Boston Marathon.  The Red Sox returned to a full house at Fenway Park for a weekend series with the Kansas City Royals

“A lot of us are anxious to get back home, play in front of our crowd, and try to uplift the people of Boston,” Red Sox catcher David Ross said prior to last weekend’s series.

Patriots Day, a national holiday in the city of Boston, was marred by tragedy Monday when two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon resulting in three deaths.  The Red Sox returned home Friday from a series with the Cleveland Indians, anxious to get back on the diamond, however the opener of their weekend series was delayed due to the continued search for the bombing suspects.

Saturday’s game brought with it plenty of emotion as Neil Diamond flew in to lead the Red Sox crowd in a rendition of his hit song “ Sweet Caroline,” a tune that has become a staple during the eighth inning of Red Sox home games. Saturday afternoon also saw the return of slugger David Ortiz from the disabled list for his first game of the season.

“This past week, I don’t think there’s one human being who wasn’t affected by what was going on down here.” Ortiz said after the Red Sox 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon.

The Red Sox are currently in first place in the American League East standings and start a four game series with the Houston Astros this Thursday at Fenway Park.

photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/heylookitsam/3047535542/